· June, 2010

Stories about Western Europe from June, 2010

Italy: Large protest against “gag” rule bill on local media

  29 June 2010

“No Bavaglio” (No Gag) is a large protest movement in Italy against a proposed privacy law that would impose heavy fines on newspapers (and blogs) that publish transcripts of phone calls. The law is suspect, because wiretapping has played a key role in media investigations that have led to mafia...

Japan and the World Cup: Silencing the critics

  28 June 2010

Ranked near the bottom of the 32 teams on the field in South Africa, facing odds estimated at 400-to-1 and four straight pre-tournament losses to boot, Japan was not even expected to win a game in this year's World Cup. But with their convincing 3-1 win over Denmark, perceptions have completely changed, propelling coach Takashi Okada from the butt of all jokes to a national hero.

Global: Tweeting the USA/England Match

The Twittersphere was abuzz during the USA/England #worldcup match on June 12. The game was highly anticipated in the United States, where TV ads touted it as the "most anticipated" match of the World Cup, whereas in England, fans were nearly certain their team would win.

France : Poetry Slam World Cup

  13 June 2010

Bobigny, in the Paris suburbs, is hosting  a different kind of  world cup, namely  the 4th Poetry Slam World Cup (the quarter finals), on June 12th and 13th. Bondy Blog interviews [Fr] two  finalists:  Le Wise, from Gabon, and Philipp Sharri, from Germany.

Brazil: Graffiti Artists Lighten Up Europe

  12 June 2010

Once persecuted by the authorities, street art has made it to the mainstream. The Brazilian twin brothers known as GÊMEOS are on exhibition in the first event of street art in a Portuguese museum, according to local bloggers [pt]. In collaboration with Italian graffiti artist Blu, they also left their...