Stories about Western Europe from March, 2008
Romania, Hungary, Austria: Marshal Antonescu; “Political Irrelevance”
At A Fistful of Euros, Douglas Muir writes about Marshal Antonescu of Romania, and Alex Harrowell writes about an “outbreak of arseholes in Central Europe.”
Macedonia, Greece: More on the Name Dispute
More on the Macedonia-Greece name dispute – at Halfway Down the Danube and Foreign Policy Blog.
Netherlands: What is the problem,Mr.Wilders?
Kamangir,an Iranian blogger, shares his idea about Geert Wilders’ famous video:”the video contradicts itself when at the end it asks for the Islamic ideology to be defeated. If that’s what...
Congolese blogger Cédric Kalonji on the mixed blessings of life in Europe
Cédric Kalonji writes about the mixed blessings [Fr] of life in Europe for Africans: “I ask myself what's better, living in an African hell or all of the less-than-positive looks...
Taiwan: Religious buildings–a way to explore how cultures mix
The popular image of multi-culturalism as a mosaic, a salad bowl in which different cultures mix but keep their integrity, is misleading. Cultures are more like soups, flavored with many...
Portugal: Should the Olympics be boycotted?
There is a heated debate at Blasfemias’ 4th post about the Beijing Olympics. More than 70 commentators agree or not with Gabriel Silva's [pt] that a boycott would not help,...
Macedonia: The Government's “Un-Collapse”
Douglas Muir of A Fistful of Euros reports that Macedonia's government has “un-collapsed.” Also, he feels that “the Macedonia name issue is so stupid that it’s almost physically painful to...
Bahrain: Kindest People Ever
Sous, a Swedish woman living in Bahrain, wonders about the impact of development on Bahrainis. “Bahrainis … are the most kind people I have ever met. They are polite, educated,...
Japan: Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant fuels debate
The village of Rokkasho, situated Aomori prefecture in the north of Japan's main island Honshū, hosts a nuclear facility for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, the first of its kind in Japan. While the scale of this reprocessing plant dwarfs standard nuclear plants, most Japanese citizens have up to recently known little to nothing of its existence. This has started to change recently with demonstrations held in various parts of the country by citizen groups. Bloggers have also picked up this debate, offering varying perspectives on the costs and benefits of the latest development of Japan's nuclear industry.
LiveJournal: Bloggers Protest Basic Account Cancellation
Yet again, LJ users are in distress. Unlike the previous times, however, the current situation involves both the Russian-language and the English-language segments of LiveJournal. It all began when LiveJournal's management announced that no account created after March 12, 2008, could be turned into a free-of-charge and ad-free Basic Account. Today, some Anglophone and Russophone LJ users protest against this unpopular measure.
Israel: Shakespeare Was a Jewish Woman?
The Bard's identity has long been a matter of debate, but a new candidate has entered the scene. Could Shakespeare have been an Italian Jewish woman? Jewcy's John Hudson provides...
Israel: Historic Visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Chancellor Angela Merkel's address to the Israeli Knesset was the first ever by a German head of state. Following controversy that Merkel would speak in German– an issue that enraged...
Lebanon: Dutch embassy without flag
“Since a couple of days, The Dutch embassy in Beirut has stopped flying its flag,” reports Harald Doornbos from Beirut.
Barbados, UK: RIP Arthur C. Clarke
Barbadian bloggers Notes From The Margin and Pull! Push! acknowledge the passing of “noted science fiction writer and visionary” Arthur C. Clarke.
France: Malagasy nightclub in Marseille
harinjaka writes about a new Malagasy night club [Fr] in Marseille: “I know from personal experience that it's not easy to enter a club here (in France), especially if you...
Ukraine: “NATO Naysayers”
Ukrainiana writes about Ukraine's “NATO naysayers” – “local” and foreign.
Russia, UK: Olga Freer's Book
The UK’s Daily Mail reviews “a book written by a young Russian woman about her experiences living in London” – and White Sun of the Desert reviews the book review:...
Macedonia: Name Change to Enter NATO, EU?
Ever since Macedonia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991, its name has been the subject of a bitter dispute with its southern neighbor, Greece. Greece claims that the use of “Republic of Macedonia,” as Macedonia calls itself in its constitution, not only violates Greece's historic cultural claim to the name, but also implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of Macedonia. Elia Varela Serra reviews bloggers' responses to the issue.
Russia: Relations With Germany; Arms Sales
Siberian Light writes about the future of the Russian-German relationship – and about an apparent competition between Russia and the United States in the arms supply market.
Brasil: The most beautiful street in the world
The Porto Alegre Vive [“Porto Alegre Lives”, PT] blog tells us[PT] about the Portuguese blog A Sombra Verde [“The Green Shadow”, PT] that elected one of Porto Alegre‘s streets as...
Estonia, Finland: Police
Itching for Eestimaa reports that “Estonia is considering hiring 300 unemployed Finnish police officers to handle its internal shortage of police.”
