· February, 2008

Stories about Western Europe from February, 2008

Serbia: Ambassadorial Discontent

  26 February 2008

While some of the foreign embassies were being set on fire in Belgrade in protest to the unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo, Serbian embassies in Belgium and Russia were having diplomatic activities of a different kind - and Serbian bloggers took interest in them. Sinisa Boljanovic translates.

Africa: African History in Europe

  26 February 2008

Bill writes about an online initiative on African History in Europe: “For the past 3 weeks a small group of blog authors and friends living in various parts of Europe (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the UK) have been quietly organizing an online workgroup for collaboration on themes in black and...

Sharing music for free is not a crime, in Spain

  26 February 2008

Miguel Caetano, who faithfully writes at his blog Remixtures, blogs about[PT] the relative freedom to share music non-commercialy through P2P enjoyed in Spain, and compliments Spanish judges for their fine understanding of the net and it's social dynamics.

Armenia: Exit Polls

  24 February 2008

The Armenian Economist comments on two exit polls conducted during voting for last week's presidential election in Armenia . The blog appears to consider the British Populus poll the more reliable of the two, but says the discrepancy between the findings of both is striking.

Armenia: Diplomats Resign

  23 February 2008

Unzipped comments on reports that four senior Armenian diplomats have resigned following Tuesday's disputed presidential election in Armenia. One of them, Armenian Ambassador to Italy, Spain and Portugal, Ruben Shugaryan, was presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian's aide and press secretary from 1991-3.

Lebanon: Danish Cartoons Again

  21 February 2008

“Oh, no. Not again. Not Danish cartoons. Ayatullah Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah sent an official letter to the Danish government regarding Danish cartoons (not pastries). He express his concern that “some Jewish sides that are linked to International Zionism” may be behind Danish cartons,” announces The Angry Arab News Services.

Georgia: Patarkatsishvili Dies

  21 February 2008

TOL Georgia comments on the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili in London at the age of 52. The blog remembers Georgia's richest man who in recent years has been synonymous with support for opposition groups in the country and who was harshly critical of the Georgian authorities. However, the blog reminds...

Kosovo: “Western Protectorate” Tradition

  20 February 2008

“Kosova’s status as a Western protectorate, replete with a banal, EU-style flag, is therefore entirely in keeping with the tradition of earlier Balkan states that successfully achieved their independence under Great Power guidance,” writes Greater Surbiton.

Kosovo: Views from the Russophone Blogosphere

  20 February 2008

According to the Yandex Blogs portal, over 3,700 posts on Kosovo independence have appeared in the Russian-language blogosphere in the past three days. Some of these posts have received dozens, if not hundreds, of comments. Below are a few snippets of this lively discussion, all translated from Russian.

French immigration minister: ‘France isn't racist’

  20 February 2008

Forum Realisance summarizes French immigration minister Brice Hortefeux's recent interview [Fr] with Jeune Afrique in which he discussed DNA testing for immigrants, immigration quotas, expulsion and other controversial issues, finally stating, “No, France is not racist.”

Spanish reactions to Kosovo's independence

  20 February 2008

Two days after Kosovo's declaration of independence in spite of Serbia's opposition, the debate about the merits of recognising it as a state is still raging. Within the European Union, countries such as France, UK, Germany or Italy have recognized it, while others such as Slovakia and Spain have strongly opposed it as they consider that the declaration does not respect international law.

Kosovo & Serbia: Independence Blogging

  18 February 2008

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday, Feb. 17, has caused both celebrations and protests - as well as plenty of media coverage and an avalanche of blog posts. Below is a selection of some Anglophone bloggers' views.