Central Europeans are known for their persistent pessimism. An old Hungarian joke sums it up well: "We know that next year is going to be an average year - because it's going to be worse than this year, but better than the year after that." That glass-half-empty mentality was on public display in July 2009, when several senior Central Europeans wrote an open letter to President Obama decrying the lack of engagement from the new U.S. administration. While the tactics of publishing such a letter were ill-considered, the feelings behind it were genuine.
Jason Miko's column "A place at the table for Macedonia?" (Commentary, Sept. 7) misidentifies the loyal ally that has been disrespected by the United States. Mr. Miko's attempt to demonstrate how the United States favors Greece over the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is flawed.
Sept. 8 is the Republic of Macedonia's 19th birthday. Since 1991, Macedonia has worked its way through the painful transition from a socialist state born out of Yugoslavia to the point where it is today - a contributing member of the family of nations, an exporter of stability and a reliable ally of the United States and NATO.
Calcutta celebrates the 100th birthday of Mother Teresa, the Nobel Prize-winning Catholic nun who made the city her home.
Devoted volunteers from around the world head for this lane, the home of Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart), the home for the dying set up 58 years ago by Mother Teresa, the late Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun who was born 100 years ago Thursday.
A tug of war in the United States over who owns a huge art trove seized by Hungary's Nazi henchmen is the most prominent example of disputed restitution policies in formerly communist Eastern Europe — but by no means the only one.
The Chinese watch half as much television each day as Americans do, but they are more likely to catch video on computer or mobile phones.
A tug-of-war in the United States over who owns a huge art trove seized by Hungary's Nazi henchmen is the most prominent example of disputed restitution policies in formerly communist eastern Europe _ but by no means the only one.
The column "A name to reckon with" (Commentary, May 4) suggests the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is a small, innocent country being bullied by Greece. Not so - Greece largely sustains FYROM's economy by virtue of being the largest investor and providing almost 26,000 jobs.
