Stories about Western Europe from December, 2006
Martinique, Guadeloupe: A Star is Born
Atout Guadeloupe is happy (Fr) that 19 year-old Martiniquan Cyril won the Star Academy reality show/music contest, a French equivalent of American Idol. Says the feed: “19, millions of Euros, a budding career. Guadeloupe joins the pride and joy of Martinique for Cyril's victory… [We] predict a wonderful career for...
Guyane: Forest In Danger from Gold Digging
Blada.com (Fr) points to a Mongabay.com english-speaking series on the French Guianese environment and says: “Illegal gold digging is threatening the forest, biodiversity and indigenous populations of French Guiana. The biggest European tropical forest is invaded by clandestine gold diggers.” The site also deplores that France –of which Guyane is...
Guadeloupe:Celebrating Chevallier de St-George
Guadeloupe Attitude is happy (Fr) a Guadeloupean school chose to rename itself after local historic figure Joseph Bologne a.k.a. Chevallier de St-George, the child of a white French planter and freed african slave woman who lived in the 18th century and conquered classical composing and military skill in both Europe...
France, Minorities: Integration v. Identity Politics
Pondering the tension between integration and now fashionable identity politics, Fenetres Sur/Windows On writes (Fr): “Can we really demand recognition of our “community”, desire to live as such, outside of the common trunk of citizens and at the same time ask for the same rights as everybody else? We need...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Srebrenica Survivor and the Dutch
Srebrenica Genocide Blog posts “an e-mail from Srebrenica genocide survivor, Mr. Hasan Nuhanovic, who submitted the following opinion on recently awarded ‘medal of honor’ for those in Dutchbat who betrayed Srebrenica.”
Algeria, France: Zidane's Visit to Algeria
Cyberkabyle (Fr) deplores the official overtones of French soccer star Zinedine Zidane's visit to Algeria and looks with suspicion at the fact that the visit may have been initiated by the Algerian government.
Estonia: Partnership With Sweden
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's relations with Sweden.
DRC, France: Dear Pascal Sevran
In response to comments about Africa, Africans, African penis size and its relationship to famine on the continent made by French TV personality Pascal Sevran in a recent book, Congolese-origined blogger Alain Mabanckou writes (Fr):”Dear Pascal Sevran, Africa does not need your diagnosis. Must we remind you that a sane...
South Asia: Muslims and Christmas in the UK
Pickled Politics points to an article by one of the authors in the Guardian. “That is, erm, me in a short article in today’s Media Guardian having a sarcastic dig at the tabloids for their annual idiotic headlines that proclaim ‘Muslims want to ban Christmas!’” Watch out for the 187...
Ukraine: 1995 Trip
A link to the map of polonium-210 in London and a memory of a 1995 trip to Ukraine, over at Wu Wei.
Rwanda: African Bloggers on Kagame Judgment
French Judge's Arrest Warrant From Cameroonian Diaspora Blogger Sanaga Peregrinations: Un bref résumé des épisodes (récents) s'impose pour ceux qui n'ont pas suivi. 1. Le juge antiterroriste français Bruguière, clôture son enquête sur l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 et qui fut le declencheur du genocide qui couta la vie a...
Russia: Litvinenko's Case
Attempts to untangle the details of Aleksandr Litvinenko's poisoning, from different perspectives: by a reader at La Russophobe – here, and by Copydude – here, here, and here.
Senegal: Migrants to Spain Repatriated
Le Pangolin provides an update on the status of Africans who have migrated to Spain on rafts in the thousands in the past year (Fr): “Spain, which in an initial phase had decided to welcome them under pressure from France and the UK, just changed its position and has hardened...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: London Sevdah Emotional Issues
London Sevdah performers need “mindset training“: “To put it into context, many people from Bosnia have suffered badly during the war (and the same goes for some of London Sevdah members) and some of the biggest suffering has come in the form of long term (subtle) mental damage. This means...
Rwanda: hidden agenda?
Angelo Izama writes about the French-Rwanda diplomatic fall-out, “It is not news that France and the Kigali regime are on competing sides of the politics in this grave-filled but resource-rich Great Lakes region. The contest to assign blame for the genocide is a dangerous extension of that competition. It is,...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Air Mail
Novala, Europa reports: “Austrian Airlines offer a new feature: Air Mail. Sounds kind of natural, but not quite since they offer the service in the lunch/dinner boxes. The lid of the card board box is a postcard. You can tear it off, write it and hand it over to the...
Arabisc: Asian Games, Democracy and Models
Why was there no celebration of the Arab heritage in the opening of the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, and what is the relationship between democracy and models and why is an Egyptian blogger asking his readers to watch award-winning movie Good Night and Good Luck? These are some of...
CAR: France Military Support Against Rebels
The blog of CAR presidential candidate Olivier Gabirault points to a Liberation article stating (Fr): “In 1997, Paris, linked to its former colony by a defense accord, disengaged by closing its two military bases (Bangui and Bouar) for economic reasons. Ten years later, French soldiers are back to support President...
