Stories about Latvia
‘We have a strange destiny': a conversation with the Livonian poet Valts Ernštreits: Part II
"That's the idea of the series: to tell the Livonian story to the Latvian public, so they would better understand why Livonian is important."
‘We have a strange destiny': a conversation with the Livonian poet Valts Ernštreits: Part I
"There are only a few countries in Europe who have indigenous people, and Latvia is one of them."
International Holocaust Remembrance Day: Auschwitz in pictures
The online archive Znaci.net digitized several photos of Auschwitz from different museums in the former Yugoslavia. They tell the story, among other things, of the Mandić family of prisoners from Croatia.
Inspired by the 1989 ‘Baltic Way,’ Hong Kong protesters form human chain to demand freedom and democracy
"The light of freedom transcends time, place. Truly magnificent. #StandwithHongKong #BalticWay"
What will it take to #savetheinternet in Europe? The view from Romania
Copyright proposals being pushed by European governance bodies must take into account the nature and potential uses of networked digital technology.
Estonian President Warns of ‘Self-Occupation,’ Prompting Praise and Political Spin
Estonian president's remarks against close-minded nationalism received different political interpretations abroad, obscuring her focus on the real challenges -- technological change, including the globalization of workforce.
The World According to Russian Stereotypes
RuNet Echo explores popular stereotypes about foreigners gleaned from autocomplete suggestions generated by the website Yandex, Russia’s most popular Internet search engine.
Musicians Seen As “Pro-Russian” Are Not Welcome in the UK and Latvia
When singer Valeriya arrived at the Royal Albert Hall for her concert, which she was supposed to perform with Iosef Kobzon, she was met with over one hundred anti-Putin protesters.
Russians, Rejoice! The Long-Awaited ‘Meduza’ News Portal Has Arrived!
A cross between news aggregation and independent reporting, "Meduza" is the coolest thing to hit online Russian journalism in recent memory.
Two People Are Driving Around Europe to Find What It Means to Be European
On the eve of European elections, two French artists will tour Europe to meet with as many types of Europeans as possible.
European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism
“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...
‘Good Morning Earth!': Tweets from Space
Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield), a Canadian astronaut “currently living in space aboard ISS as Commander of [Expedition 35],” has been tweeting his amazing photos of the Earth daily since Dec. 2012.
Latvia: Jackie Chan Blogs About Filming in Jelgava
Facebook page “If you like Latvia, Latvia likes you” highlights movie star Jackie Chan's April 2012 blog post, in which he shared his “impressions about 15 day long filming of movie stunts in Jelgava, Latvia, plus lots of photos. He tells about flying experience in Aerodium vertical wind tunnel, which...
Macedonia: Fuel Prices Continue to Rise
Continuous increase of fuel prices is a cause of much concern for citizens of Macedonia, and some vent the tension through humor.
Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?
The ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty (ACTA) by the European Parliament has been delayed in expectation of an opinion from the European Court of Justice on its conformity with fundamental rights.
Latvia: Flagging for Free Speech
Juris Kaža of Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports that Latvian security police has closed an investigation into an Internet call to desecrate the Latvian flag, which is illegal in the country. The case was closed as there was no evidence of any victim of flag burning.
CEE: “Spotted by Locals”
Spotted by Locals: Experience cities like a local features a few dozen locations, including CEE cities of Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Krakow, Ljubljana, Prague, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zagreb. A random sample post from Zagreb, Croatia: Hrelić Flea Market – The Aleph of Zagreb; from Bucharest, Romania: The Haunted...
Latvia: Graffiti and Decay in Riga
Juris Kaža of Failed State Latvia? writes about graffiti and social decay in Latvian capital Riga.
Latvia: Talk Show Host Fired for “Breach of Good Taste”
Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports that a Latvian-American talk show host has been fired from LTV for calling certain politicians “whores.”
CEE: Top 10 Worldwide Download Speed
Watcher.com.ua reports [uk] that, according to a 6-month study of 27 million downloads by 20 million computers in 224 countries conducted by Pando Networks, Romania (1,909KBps), Bulgaria (1,611KBps), Lithuania (1,462KBps) and Latvia (1,377KBps) have the second, third, fourth and fifth highest download speeds in the world, while Ukraine has been...
Latvia: Parliamentary Elections Results
Andrew Wilson of OpenDemocracy.net and Juris Kaža of Failed State Latvia? analyze the results of the Sep. 17 parliamentary elections in Latvia.
