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2015 and the struggle for Europe’s core
2015 was the year that everyone could see that the European emperor is not (not any longer) wearing clothes...
Pasqyrë e vjetër shkodrane
Një botë e lume zgjatej në atë gjysmaterr, një jetë sot gadi e harrueme nisi me lëvizë në atë odë e kërkoi ngjyrat e veta të dikurshme, dritën e shkimun të agimeve. Kërkoi një za që ta ringjallte. Zanin tim. ...
Education in an Uncertain World
Access to education has been significantly broadened. The world is no longer rigidly divided between rich, well-educated countries and poor, badly educated ones. The quality of schooling remains a powerful predictor of national income over the long term......
The Fascism of the Affluent
The rise of extreme nationalism and fascism in the 1930s is usually explained in terms of the outcome of World War I, which killed millions of people and filled the heads of millions more with militaristic notions. The war also ruined Europe’s economy, leading to a global economic crisis and mass unemployment....
Happiness by Design
Happiness depends on many factors, from obvious things, like enjoying good health and close relationships, to others that might not seem immediately intuitive, like engaging in generous behavior. Some of these can be learned or cultivated, and courses that teach positive mental habits ......
The Grassroots of Climate Change
The Paris agreement has drawn the first broad strokes of a solution to climate change. But until its targets are translated into action, the world’s least-developed countries may not be convinced that the developed countries are serious about equity – or “climate justice.”...
At Christmas Time
"Grandfather is kind and gentle; granny is good, too -- kind-hearted. They are warm-hearted in the country, they are God-fearing . . . and there is a little church in the village; the peasants sing in the choir. Queen of Heaven, Holy Mother and Defender, take us away from here!"...
Democracy Versus Growth?
Europe’s ongoing malaise has reignited the old debate over which form of government produces better economic performance. Are authoritarian regimes, with their ability to ram through unpopular choices, more effective at generating growth? ...
Lu kundër Korrupsionit dhe Politika shqiptare
Aktivizimi i Ambasadorit amerikan , Donald Lu në luftën kundër korrupsionit galopant në Shqipëri ka ngjallur jo vetëm kureshtje, por edhe frikë në qarqe të caktuara të politikës shqiptare dhe në institucionet më të përfolura në Shqipëri të dalluara për korrupsion si drejtësia dhe prokuroria......
Who are the new Euro-believers?
The coming European community, we found, is characterised by national, post-national and nested citizenships. The elections look to be dominated by issues of austerity, immigration and the limits of mobility - we ask, what space is there for new narratives on European citizenship?...
Mother Teresa miracle recognised
Pope Francis has recognised a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for the Roman Catholic nun to be made a saint next year....
Oil Prices and Global Growth
One of the biggest economic surprises of 2015 is that the stunning drop in global oil prices did not deliver a bigger boost to global growth. Despite the collapse in prices, from over $115 per barrel in June 2014 to $45 at the end of November 2015, most macroeconomic models suggest......
Warnings over electoral register data
Not being on the register can have a negative impact on your credit rating, as electoral roll data are routinely used by lenders, utilities, insurers and mobile phone companies to help verify a customer’s identity....
Online media: personal data collection as a source of revenue?
The limits of the ad-based revenue model are starting to show. Should we worry about online publishers getting involved in personal data collection in order to maintain income?...
Schengen and European Security
The Schengen Area’s members need to recognize that the security rationale for abolishing internal borders remains as compelling today as it was when they joined....
Fjalimi i Nobelistes S Aleksieviç
« për veprën e saj polifonike, përmendore e vuajtjes dhe kurajos së epokës sonë »...
Fictiocracy: democracy as an illusion
This is an illusory democracy which is upheld by governmental narratives but is not backed up by the kind of state policies that would be expected from consolidated democracies. Thus arises Ficciocracia (Fictiocracy), a string of scenarios that fictionalize the virtues of democracy ......
The Evolution of Work
Historically, doing lots of backbreaking work is how countries have become rich. And being rich is how some people get the chance to do more pleasant work....
Race relations after 50 years
History tells us that the prime minister's stated aim of ending discrimination is meaningless without the legislation and infrastructure to enforce it....
The Battle for Britain
Other EU leaders cannot afford to be complacent, either. The EU is already disintegrating, and the risk of Brexit is very real. Unless they strike a convincing deal by February, that risk may well become a reality....
Ku janë?
Jeta në Kosovë është bërë si ta jetosh atë në film – sa qetësia, sa lotsjellësi, sa arrestimi, sa pazari, sa cirkusi, sa farsa, sa hajgarja, sa qortimi, sa zbutja e fjalëve, sa inati..., dhe krejt këto në hiç më pak se një javë....
Të bëjmë pakt me Djallin!
Ka ardhur momenti ta lëmë mënjanë mendësinë tonë të Luftës së Ftohtë. Nuk është e vërtetë se çfarë është e mirë për Putinin është automatikisht e keqe për Perëndimin. Që të dy kemi një objektiv të qartë dhe konkret – të eliminojmë rrezikun e Isis-it. Çdo gjë tjetër është dytësore. ...
Capitalism won't reform itself
Comrades, let’s not make the same mistake twice. Let’s not fool ourselves that change will come from above, if only we state our case in a sufficiently convincing manner. ...
Knowledge for Progress
Education may not be a quick fix for slow growth. But try naming a country that has sustained an economic transformation without advances in education....
A do t’i ngopë Rama dibranët edhe këtë herë me lugë bosh?
Nga Kina vijnë lajme për Rrugën e Arbrit, ndërsa në Shqipëri gjithçka është në heshtje. Ndërsa lajmet optimiste nga Lindja e Largët thonë se është biseduar për detajet e fundit mes dy kryeministrave, Rama dhe Li Keqiang, në Shqipëri asnjë nga ministritë e përfshira në negociata nuk bëjnë asgjë transparente për publikun....
Human rights and the age of inequality
The value of distributive equality—any ceiling on the wealth gap between rich and poor—is as absent from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as it is from the legal regimes and social movements that take it as their polestar....
Për Europë!
E gjithë strategjia e Perëndimit për zgjidhjen afatgjatë të problemeve dhe vendosjen e paqes në Ballkan ka vite që bazohet në procesin e integrimeve europiane....
Kriza politike e Gjermanisë
Çuditërisht, udhëheqësja demokratike më jetëgjatë e Europës po përballet me krizën më të rëndë politike të dekadës së saj në detyrë. Duke hapur kufijtë e vendit të saj në atë që një zyrtar gjerman e ka quajtur një “marshim biblik” i refugjatëve, Merkeli mori me vete një seri paradoksesh. ...
Managing a World of Great Powers
Today, great-power competition is a fact: The United States now competes with an increasingly active Russia and a rising China. The Middle East, the South China Sea, and Ukraine are just three theaters where this new reality is playing out....
The Great Policy Divergence
Already, the interest-rate differential between “risk-free” bonds on both sides of the Atlantic – say, US Treasuries and German Bunds – has widened notably. And, at the same time, the dollar has strengthened not only against the euro, but also against most other currencies. Left unchecked, these trends are likely to persist....
Klub (Parlamenti) i Selanikut!
Parlamenti i sotëm, thuhet se është për të konsoliduar shtetin e të drejtës, demokracinë e vendosjen e ligjit kudo e mbi çdo gjë, por në të vërtetë është kthyer në vendin ku bëhen llogje, «as më ke e as të kam», ku tregojnë përralla me mbret! Çajupi flet edhe për Klubin e Londrës, para njëqind viteve nga ajo kohë, që quhej «Klubi i të liqve»!...
The Education Myth
This generation is too old for education to be its growth strategy. It needs a growth strategy that will make it more productive – and thus able to create the resources to invest more in the education of the next generation. Our generation owes it to theirs to have a growth strategy for ourselves....Author info