· August, 2007

Stories about Western Europe from August, 2007

Tunisia: A new Mohammed cartoon crisis ?

Tunisian blogger A.L.G.Y of Cos-maux-polis is wondering whether a new Mohammed cartoon crisis is brewing. She explains that drawings of a man with the body of a dog wearing a turban were published in a local Swedish newspaper on August, 18th. As protests are underway in Pakistan and Iran, she...

Greece: On Fire

  27 August 2007

We've probably all heard it in the news by now: Greece is ablaze. Today the fires reached the ancient city of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics and home of the Olympia Museum, which houses one of Greece's greatest archaeological collections. Athens in Flames (From flickr user alefbetac) While the...

UK, Caribbean: Colours of Notting Hill Carnival

  27 August 2007

Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's largest summer festival, is a celebration of both Caribbean culture and London's multicultural heritage. Images posted by various Flickr users give glimpses of the carnival's colours and faces.

Europe: Elimination of Roma in 1944

  24 August 2007

Peshas Gypsy Gitan Blog writes about the elimination of the Roma by the Nazi in 1944: “The Roma kept very few written records the Generations gone before were remembered and kept alive in memory by word of mouth. Those murdered in the death camps were not only killed but they...

Senegal: Africa according to Nicolas Sarkozy

  24 August 2007

Francophone Africa was awaiting anxiously the newly elected French President's arrival. Nicolas Sarkozy's reputation certainly preceded him in Africa. He was minister of the interior under Jacques Chirac and was responsible for quenching the revolts of disaffected youths (ones he referred to as “racaille” (scum)). Today Africa is still reeling...

Turkey: To each his own traitor

Guillaume Perrier, author of the blog Au fil du bosphore , muses about the toughening rhetoric in the Turkish political sphere (Fr) as the election for the Turkish presidential office comes to an end. Perrier asks whether the promises of uniting the country are already forgotten.

Bolivia: Following the Swiss Example

  21 August 2007

Carlos Gustavo Machicado of Guccio's [ES] comments on a recent speech by President Evo Morales, who stated his desire for Bolivia to follow the example set by Switzerland. Machiado writes, “The reactions have been favorable because it is good that we want to be like Switzerland, and not like Venezuela...

African writers criticize Sarkozy in open letter

  21 August 2007

Jean-Luc Raharimanana, a Malagasy writer famous for his influential works on French colonialism, recently authored an open letter to French president Nicolas Sarkozy in response to the now infamous message to Africa and Africans he delivered in Dakar, Senegal. Nearly a month has passed since Sarkozy's speech, but its effects...

Iraq: Shame on Britain!

“I have a few words for the govt of Britain. Shame on you Britain for abandoning the only people that believed in helping you. Shame on you for refusing them entry to your country. Shame on you. I shake my head with disgust,” writes Neurotic Iraqi Wife in this post.