· November, 2007

Stories about Western Europe from November, 2007

Angola: The right of voting

  26 November 2007

Desabafos Angolanos [pt] is proud to announce the success of a demonstration in November 19, in Lisbon, to claim Angolan expatriates’ right to vote: “Success? With only 20 people?” Yes! Success because they were 20 people under rain, 20 people among 100,000 who had no fear, who did not give...

Armenia: HaShiSh

  24 November 2007

Life in the Armenian Diaspora reports that HaShiSh, an Armenian punk rock band from South America, is touring the U.S. Meanwhile, Unzipped posts an account of former System of a Down frontman, Serj Tankian, performing in London.

Serbia, the EU: Stability and Association Pact

  19 November 2007

A Fistful of Euros writes about Serbia's Stability and Association Pact with the EU (SAA), to be signed in Jan. 2008: “It looks like Brussels is trying to strengthen the ‘liberal and Western’ strain of Serbia’s politics before December, when problems are likely to arise with Kosovo.”

Brazil/UK: Justice for Jean Charles de Menezes

  19 November 2007

Joty reports that the Metropolitan Police Authority in the UK is meeting this Thursday, November 22, to decide whether or not to sack Ian Blair over the death of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, in 2005. “So – politely and gently – they need a little bit of lobbying...

Bahrain: Kitting Out An Islamic Car

  17 November 2007

This week in Bahrain we have a thoughtful post about the nature of God, a story of a sex education class, visitors’ varying experiences of both Bahrain and Spain, and a complaint about public toilets. There is also an intriguing examination of the specifications an Islamic car should have…

Estonia: The Swedes

  16 November 2007

Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonian Swedes: “…I came to the conclusion that Estonian Swedes do have a certain unspoken minority status in Estonia: they are marginal. No one writes about them. No one thinks about them. They exist, are deemed somewhat exotic, but then forgotten. They are simply unimportant....

Russia: Books on “The New Cold War”

  12 November 2007

The Economist‘s Edward Lucas seeks help in promoting his new book, due to be published in February 2008 – The New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Russia and the West (not to be confused with Mark MacKinnon‘s The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections, and Pipeline Politics in the...

Venezuela: Chavez and the King of Spain

  12 November 2007

Venezuela News and Views takes a look at the conflict between Hugo Chavez and the King of Spain, who asked the Venezuelan president, “why don't you just shut up?” at a recent conference in Santiago, Chile.

Russia: Chewing Gum in the Soviet Union

  12 November 2007

Like a million other things, chewing gum wasn't freely available in the Soviet Union. In the post translated below, a Russian blogger recalls a childhood experience involving chewing gum - zhvachka - that appears comical now, but must have been rather traumatic 30 years ago.