Saturday, April 04, 2009
Friday, April 03, 2009
Running GIMP on Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger
GIMP is a free alternative to Photoshop and one of the best open source programs on the internet. Usually, I use it on my antiquated Windows laptop but lately I have also been trying to get it to work on my Mac ibook and it has been a very frustrating experience. Finally, today with the help of one of my computer - minded students we finally cracked it. So, hats off to Anna for showing so much patience and in return I have promised to show her how to use GIMP on her Mac.So, here we go with my own attempt on how to get GIMP to run on Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger). All the hard work has been done by others on the internet so I'm just collating their efforts so they make sense to less technically minded souls.
1 Download GIMP for OSX 10.4 (if you are not sure what version of OSX you are using click on the blue apple in the top left hand corner and then click on About This Mac). You can find it on
Wilber Loves Apple site. Once again you can find out if you have an Intel or Power PC Mac by clicking on About This Mac.
2 Install Gimp.
3 Unfortunately for reason beyond my ken and pay grade you can't just run GIMP as it is and so you need to install Apple's X11. If you are lucky and/or conscientious then you can find this on you initial Tiger installation disc. Alternatively, go to Chris James Martin's blog here and download the two zip files there.
4 Next open the X11SKD.pkg first and then the X11User.pkg file.
5 Now run GIMP.
Just be warned. The first time I did this GIMP took forever to open. Afterwards it was much quicker though.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Greek general strike 2009 - γενική απεργεία 2009
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek public services closed down and transport was disrupted across the country Thursday as thousands of workers went on strike to protest government spending cuts.
G20 - "This is not a riot"
We are definitely living in interesting times. Modes and levels of protest not seen in decades are sweeping many countries in Europe and elsewhere as the G20 leaders meet to discuss our future in London. Here in Greece the country is in the midst of a general strike organised by trade unions to protest the government spending cuts. In Northern Ireland workers have taken over three Ford owned plants, in France bosses of a factory scheduled to close were held hostage yesterday by sacked employees and, of course there have been protests in London.
Yesterday I followed events in Britain via the internet and once again I have come to the conclusion that the mainstream media are being outclassed by their internet rivals. The coverage of the demonstrations by the BBC ranged from the misleading to the trite and once again the established channels blindly accepted the official version given the police and authorities and resorted to long distance reporting via telephoto lens and imported "experts" who no more about what's happening down in the streets than I do here in Greece.
Even the coverge of the events inside the summit amounted to little more than gossip and observation more suited to a beauty pageant than a high level political event. I think I heard the same old statistics repeated hundreds of times. I wonder if anyone went to bother to check out if they are true or just decided that endlessly recycling press releases is easier than doing some first hand research.
Thankfully, I was also following events via Twitter, Flickr, Youtube and blogs which gave me a much more rounded view of events including the excesses of the police whose use of "kettling" (hemming in large groups of people for hours on end) seemed to be tailor made to create tension.
In addition, We also have video footage of the way in which UK riot police went out of their way to provoke violent response from protesters in the Climate Camp in Bishopgate.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
G20 protests everywhere
G20 protests everywhere, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.
For the latest updates check out #g20 and #imcg20 on Twitter.
Press Freedom:Collateral Damage
I was following the #G20 hash on Twitter in order, like the UK police, to keep abreast of the latest developments concerning the G20 summit protests in London when I came across a short documentary, Press Freedom: Collateral Damage which shows the increasingly systematic harassment of camera operators, photographers and journalists by the police in Britain. As the National Union of Journalists site says;
"The NUJ had already submitted written evidence to the committee’s Policing and Protest inquiry. In his oral evidence, Jeremy highlighted issues such as journalists being denied access to report on demonstrations, the removal and deletion of data and the excessive use of stop and search powers against journalists.
He also highlighted some of the violent consequences faced by journalists going about their work, including details of past physical assaults.
The committee went on to question Jeremy about the surveillance of journalists by the police’s Forward Intelligence Team, which was set up to monitor the activities of people under suspicion of criminal activities."
I remember talking with a reporter here in Thessaloniki and they told me the same kind of thing; that the police have been becoming more aggressive in there treatment of photographers and people with video cameras.
I suppose that this is another spin - off connected with the rise of the internet and the ability of people to post their own stories to a wider audiences. In the past only a few could get their news out, usually via the mainstream press. As a result there were ways of making sure that potentially embarrassing images of police misbehavior could be quietly surpressed with an appeal to the editor/owner's sense of civic duty combined with veiled threats concerning the possible difficulties their journalist could face getting access to police sources in the future. Nowadays, however, such obstacles can be easily circumvented by posting such material on a site which means that everyone carrying a camera maybe a potential "enemy".
In addition the rise of citizen journalism means that many of those who cover demos, protests and the like are not subject to the traditional rules of engagement that covered reporters in the past and so unburdened by a political line set down by the channel/paper/station are free to report what they see.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Ανοιχτή Σύγκλητος στο Α.Π.Θ
Ψήφισμα για τη διευθέτηση του θέματος των εργολαβιών στο Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης (ΑΠΘ) εξέδωσαν οι πρυτανικές αρχές, έπειτα από ανοιχτή Σύγκλητο που πραγματοποιήθηκε για το θέμα αυτό.
Στο ψήφισμα αναφέρεται ότι το ΑΠΘ δεσμεύεται να ασκεί όλα τα δικαιώματα που του παρέχει ο νόμος αναφορικά με τις τρέχουσες συμβάσεις εργολαβίας, ώστε να μην παραβιάζεται από τους εργολήπτες η κείμενη νομοθεσία (εργατική και ασφαλιστική) για τους εργαζόμενους στο πανεπιστήμιο με εξαρτημένη σχέση εργασίας, να τηρούνται οι συναφθείσες συμβάσεις και να ασκεί τα νόμιμα δικαιώματά του, όταν διαπιστώνει ότι υπάρχουν παραβιάσεις των συμβάσεων.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Call on the Greek government to set up an independent commission of inquiry
Riot police break up protest march in Thessaloniki, Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.
Greek police shot and killed 15-year-old Alexandros-Andreas (Alexis) Gregoropoulos in Athens on 6 December 2008. A longstanding history of human rights violations committed by police in Greece was highlighted by the shooting and by the conduct of officers policing subsequent demonstrations in December 2008 and January 2009.
Following these events, Amnesty International has received numerous reports of such violations by police in the context of policing the protests, including excessive use of force and firearms, torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and denial of prompt access to legal assistance. Complaints of such violations have also been received from children.
Amnesty International believes that the authorities' response to the killing of Alexis Gregoropoulos and the protests which erupted in the aftermath of his death should not end with the ongoing police and judicial investigations.
In this context, a strong message must be sent to the Greek government that no one can be above the law - especially those charged with enforcing it.
Take Action. Join Amnesty International in urging the Greek government to set up an independent commission of inquiry, mandated to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the death of Alexis Gregoropoulos and the police response to the demonstrations and the riots that began on 6 December.
Έκθεση "καταπέλτης" κατά της ΕΛΑΣ
Για "σοβαρές παραβιάσεις ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων" επικρίνει την ελληνική αστυνομία η Διεθνής Αμνηστία και καλεί την κυβέρνηση να κάνει έρευνα.
Σε έκθεση της που δημοσιοποιήθηκε τη Δευτέρα, η Διεθνής Αμνηστία αναφέρει ότι η αντίδραση της αστυνομίας στις ταραχές του Δεκεμβρίου στην Αθήνα υπήρξε "το αποκορύφωμα της συνταγματικής παραβίασης στην προστασία των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων".
Υποστηρίζει επίσης ότι μετά τον τερματισμό των ταραχών τον Ιανουάριο έλαβε πολλές καταγγελίες (για την παραβίαση ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων από την αστυνομία) τις οποίες έθεσε υπόψη του υπουργού εσωτερικών Προκόπη Παυλόπουλου.
Η ελληνική κυβέρνηση δε έχει απαντήσει στην έκθεση της Διεθνούς Αμνηστείας.
Ωστόσο, διπλωματικές πηγές υποστηρίζουν ότι η αστυνομία επέδειξε εξαιρετική αυτοσυγκράτηση, αν λάβει κανείς υπόψη τις περιστάσεις.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A song for the G20 summit - London
With the G20 summit in London almost upon us any suggestions about a suitable official anthem?
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Earth Hour is almost upon us
Here in Greece Earth Hour will start in about 20 minutes (8.30pm). We'll be switching off the power in a while. Join us.
Making the world safe for Gucci
The press here in Thessaloniki has been full of stories on the recent clamp down on crime. According to the Greek national daily newspaper Kathimerini, the authorities carried out 1912 checks, reported 386 violations and made 67 arrests. I happened to be in town at the time and as far as I can tell the police's efforts seemed to be once again a "round up the usual suspects" affair in which the plain clothes and uniformed officers chased the African street vendors who sell knock-off bags and other accesssories in the centre.
In the meantime last night thieves attempted to steal a ATM located inside the Praktiker DIY super store by throwing a hand grenade at it, two large stores were attacked midday in the centre, a bank was firebombed in Euosmos and the body of a young woman was found floating in the harbour.
I think we're moving more and more towards a model of law and order that befits a banana republic in which the kind of crime that affects ordinary people is met with indifference and incompetence but in which public order offenses get the lion share of police time and resources. Perhaps this government is, in fact despite its chronic inability to plan more than five minutes ahead, getting ready for the future, knowing full well that there is going to be massive resistance to the inevitable cuts in public services and that the rich are going to be more and more the target of protests as times get harder.
According to the Kathemerini and Eleutherotypia the government is planning to double the number of riot police.In addition the Athens police authorities are creating rapid response teams to police the upscale shopping districts in the centre of the capital even while crime rates in the rest of the city are going through the roof.
The present conservative New Democracy administration cannot fund a US style New Deal because they have already borrowed heavily and even more recklessly lied about financial fundamentals such as the extent of the country's debt load and growth projection to such an extent that the government's macro - economic data is now considered unreliable by EU auditors and potential creditors. The result is that future loans can only be secured at cripplingly high interest rates and that the government will have no alternative but to sell off public assets and cut spending. Both of which will lead to massive public unrest.
Hence the increase in riot police units.
On the other hand, it is comforting knowing that in a world beset by crisis and mayhem the market for high end Italian accessories remains safe under the vigilant eye of the authorities.
New City dress code goes into effect ahead of G20 demo
How not to look like a banker
City workers are being advised by police to dress down during the G20 summit next week, in case they're targeted by protesters.
For the latest updates on the G20 demonstrations check out the #g20 hash on Twitter and "G20" on blog search engines such as Technorati. These are great resources for anyone who wants to get an impression of what's going on in the streets as well as the news rooms.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Europe's financial frostbite
It suddenly occurred to me that Europe is responding the current economic crisis in a manner akin to the way human body reacts to extreme cold. In the case of frostbite blood flows away from the extremities such as fingers and toes to the areas nearer the chest.
It seems that those economies further from the continent's economic core seem to experiencing something similar. Capital seems to be flowing away from the peripheries towards the continent's "heart". Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, much of Eastern and South Eastern Europe are heading towards deep recession with massive declines in economic output. Let's hope that we avoid the next step;
"In extreme cold, or when the body is exposed to cold for long periods, this protective strategy can reduce blood flow in some areas of the body to dangerously low levels. This lack of blood leads to the eventual freezing and death of skin tissue in the affected areas."
It seems that those economies further from the continent's economic core seem to experiencing something similar. Capital seems to be flowing away from the peripheries towards the continent's "heart". Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, much of Eastern and South Eastern Europe are heading towards deep recession with massive declines in economic output. Let's hope that we avoid the next step;
"In extreme cold, or when the body is exposed to cold for long periods, this protective strategy can reduce blood flow in some areas of the body to dangerously low levels. This lack of blood leads to the eventual freezing and death of skin tissue in the affected areas."
Using Youtube to teach EFL/ESL
Recently I have been using short video clips from the internet in my lessons. Nothing too long, just two to three minutes of real life listening practice which helps students to get used to a variety of speaking styles and subjects. As you can imagine the possibilities are endless as far as teaching opportunities are concerned, but here is one idea that can be applied quickly and with very little preparation.
The videos should be short (60 - 120 seconds), visually varied (not just talking heads) and ideally about subjects the students have knowledge of.
Lesson plan
1 Explain to students that they are going to see a short news story but without sound. Their job is to make guesses about what is happening. If the class is upper intermediate and above the students do this individually, otherwise they work in groups.
2 The individuals/groups work with others to compare their guesses.
3 Now tell them that they are going to be reporters and find out more about the story for their local newspaper. To do so they have to ask five questions with these words;
WHO
WHAT
WHERE
WHEN
WHY
4 Students write down questions, you might want to help out at this point as this is a problem area for many learners.
5 Now play the video again this time with sound and students write down their answers. If the answer wasn't covered then get the students to think of their own.
6 Now explain to the them that they are going to write the headline and first paragraph to the story. You might want to do yourself as an example.
Follow up exercises
- Write the rest of the story.
- Students video an interview with each other pretending to be those involved.
- Find their own stories to show the class next lesson.
- Follow up the story from other sources on the internet.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
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