Stories about Western Europe from November, 2010
Morocco: Danish journalist deported for Western Sahara fishing story
A Danish journalist who did a radio story on the European Union paying Morocco for fish from Western Sahara was deported from Morocco two days after arriving. His computer hard drive and SIM card were confiscated.
Brazil: Milo Manara, master of erotic comics, visits Brazil
Fausto Salvadori, from blog Boteco Sujo [Dirty Bar, pt], writes about the famous Italian artist Milo Manara‘s visit to Brazil. Manara, a master of erotic comics, was in São Paulo and gave an interview to journalists and fans.
China: Time for a new conversation about privacy invasion
With a broader and perhaps global view of more pervasive privacy issues, poet and professor Rui Shen asks: "Some people disagree with airport security measures that display people's bodies, feeling those to be an invasion of their privacy. Watching the debate on the news, though, I wonder: are these people confused or just stupid?"
Portugal: Updates on 24/11 General Strike
Follow hashtag #GreveGeral (General Strike) for Twitter updates on the general strike taking place in Portugal today and blog 31 da Sarrafada [pt] for a “minute by minute” online clipping of events. Twitter hashtag #GreveNao (No Strike) is being used by anti-strike movement supporters.
Portugal: Citizen Videos Promoting 24/11 General Strike
Youtube profile GreveGeral2010 [General Strike 2010, pt] gathers several one minute videos promoting today's mobilisation of Portuguese citizens against the austerity budget to be voted this week in the Parliament, following 2010 European sovereign debt crisis.
Costa Rica: Germany and Colombia win La Ruta endurance cycling race
La Ruta de los Conquistadores is considered one of the world's hardest cycling races in stages and it took place last week in Costa Rica, with Colombian Angela Parra winning in the women's category and German cyclist Ben Sonntag winning in the male category. But the organizers faced a parallel challenge: they struggled to handle participants' dissatisfaction with the way rules were enforced during the race.
Macedonia: Skopje Zoo Improvements
Basic improvements at the Skopje Zoo have brought new quality of life for the captive animals and the visitors, who regain confidence in this public enterprise.
Morocco/Western Sahara: Gadaym Izik Riots Become a Volatile Political Crisis
There has been ongoing unrest in Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco after “The Green March Demonstration“ in November, 1975. Last week, the territory witnessed one of the worst violent events in years. Bloggers react to the development in this post.
Russia-France: Antifascists Rally for Khimki Forest in Louvre
French antifascists shot a video [FR/EN] of a protest action in Louvre, France. Activists demanded cancellation of the highway that would cross Khimki forest park as well as stopping prosecution against Alexey Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov, two activists who are incriminated in assaulting Khimki City administration.
Collaboration against Corruption: Upcoming Events
Four different technology for transparency-related initiatives will take place around the globe in the next month. Renata Avila provides a round up.
Estonia: Pensioners’ “Relative Wealth”
AnTyx does some “number-crunching” and concludes that “on average, British pensioners are 76% better off than Estonian ones.”
Bolivia: Site Shows Life of Bolivians Living in Spain
The online citizen newspaper Ahora Bolivia [es] introduces the site Bolivia Magazine TV [es]: “The life of Bolivians in Spain,” a project that “tries to strengthen the positive image of Bolivians, showing different cultural activities that take place in Spain.”
Online Video Contest on Responsible Consumption has Winner
A Colombian short film was selected as the winner from 10 international finalists in the 4th International online short film contest for Responsible Consumption Culture. This contest, organized by ECODES and the General Direction of Consumption for the Government of Aragon called for entries in Spanish from short film producers from Spain and Latin America.
Video: It Gets Better for Queer Youth
The It Gets Better Project was started by Dan Savage as a way of preventing gay teens from committing suicide through videos explaining what gay adult life could be: lots better. And from different corners of the world, other people are also sharing their stories.
France, USA: A Tribute to Toni Morrison in Paris
On his blog 7ici que ça se passe, blogger Ménilmuche reports that Paris is paying tribute [fr] to 1993 Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison since November 4th in the the city hall of the 20th district. On 5 November, a bench was placed in her honor on Louis-Delgrès street.
Denmark: Kurdish TV Station Accused of Supporting Terrorism
Roj TV, a Kurdish-language satellite television station based in Denmark has been accused of supporting terrorism by the Danish attorney-general. It may lose its broadcasting license once the case goes to trial. The prosecuting authorities claim the station has ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Portugal: Broadening the NATO Lisbon Summit Debate
International relations researcher Bruno Oliveira Martins, has launched a series of guest posts in his blog Tratados [Treaties, pt&en], written by analysts and academics on issues related to NATO and the Lisbon Summit (November 19-20). The aim is to broaden the debate and to raise awareness about the scope of...
Côte d'Ivoire: Presidential Election in Pictures
On this Sunday, October 31st, registered voters in Côte d'Ivoire cast their ballots in the first presidential election in 10 years, due to the Civil War that broke out in 2002 and the subsequent issues that arose from it. Despite some initial delays in some polling stations, voting has been reportedly peaceful and the turnout appears to have been good. Here is a selection of pictures of the voting day.
