On Monday I’m flying to Istanbul (first time!) to do this a.k.a. this for this.
Then I’m flying to Athens (second time) to do this at this.
I start by flying from Atlanta to Charlotte to Rome to Athens to Istanbul, changing planes in each city. What could possibly go wrong?
[…] on “Shakespeare, Godwin, Kafka and the Political Problem of Other Minds.” Here’s a link that’ll take you to that paper–and to his flight […]
[…] flight from Charlotte to Rome was late, so I missed my connection to Athens (a not entirely unexpected eventuality), and the later flight to Athens they put me on left me less than an hour in Athens to go out past […]
Beware the sisa … http://www.vice.com/read/austeritys-drug-of-choice-000757-v20n5
Best line: “I thought he was screaming at God, but it turned out he was just yelling about a broken traffic light.”
It was a decent article, and I thought you’d be interested in an account of the strange, sad happenings in Athens, since you’re traveling there (I’m quite the envious stranger nevertheless). Though, I still do not understand why the author refers to the substance as an “austerity” drug, and furthermore the epitome of one.
“Whatever’s in it, in many ways sisa is the epitome of an austerity drug. The majority of its users are poor, often homeless, city dwellers reeling from the psychological and physical impacts of a country in the grip of total economic collapse.”
Is there anything austere about a hard drug addiction? And does the practice of “austerity economics” hold a firm grip of Athens in particular? Maybe you could report back for an interesting read.
I don’t know if you do requests, but here’s a blogging request in advance of the Istanbul trip: I’d be interested in hearing about 3H students’ views on Turkish politics, esp the AKP (but really, whatever is on their minds). I’ve never really been able to get a fix on the AKP’s ideology, e.g., how Islamist it is, and how authoritarian it is relative to the rest of the political landscape over there. It’s always struck me as similar in outlook to the Muslim League in Pakistan (the center-right party)–vaguely religious leanings, sporadic authoritarianism, sporadic commitment to free market economics–but I’m not really sure. Have never been to Turkey myself, but have always wanted to go.
Bon voyage!
I asked them your question; response summarised here.