Stories about Western Europe from June, 2007
France to increase explusion of illegal immigrants
Et Si Nous Parlions writes the French Ministry of Immigration and National Identity, which he sarcastically calls the Ministry of Expulsions and Official Racism, plans to expel 25,000 illegal immigrants [Fr] this year, an increase of 5,000 over the previous year.
Hungary: Famous Magyars
Pestcentric writes about famous Hungarians – which the newly-elected French president Nicolas Sarkozy is not: “The French can have him. And if he turns out to be a disaster, […] let’s be glad he doesn’t consider himself a Magyar.”
Russia, Austria: Nabucco and Gazprom
Transatlantic Politics writes about the news of Gazprom's involvement in the Nabucco gas pipeline project – which was originally supposed to be the EU's “attempt to build an alternative to the Gazprom-controlled, already-built natural gas pipeline-network”: “Can't own the pipeline? No big deal, we'll own the faucet.”
Japan: The Battle of Okinawa Again
Jeff at Jeff's Okinawa Blog reflects on the poetry of Wilfred Owen, whose poetry about World War I Jeff connects with the Battle of Okinawa (Japan). Jeff writes: “if there was ever an example of a person being meant to do something, being born for it, this is the one.”
Kazakhstan: Extraditing Aliev
With Rakhat Aliev, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev, having been arrested in Austria and released on bail awaiting extradition to Kazakhstan to face kidnapping and other criminal charges, Bonnie Boyd examines some of the possible outcomes of his extradition hearing and what they might mean for relations between...
More on Moldovans in Italy
Lyndon Allin translates another blog comment about Moldovans living and working in Italy - this time by a commenter named Snejana: "…when I write about Moldova I get very emotional, because I don’t understand why life is so difficult. On every corner in Italy there are Moldovans looking for work which they hope will make them some money and allow them to pay off their debts and send some money home to their children."
An amateur comedy of the partition of Africa
Racisme et Histoire: Le Tabou posts a video of a comic amateur representation of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 [Fr], which partitioned Africa among the major European powers. “This absurd cutting up [of Africa] does not reflect the reality and the diversity of the African people. The challenge is enormous. ...
Palestine: Peace Index
“The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to an index of 121 countries. According to the Global Peace Index, created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation and Iraq is the least, just after...
French Village's Monument to a Gabonese WWII Hero
Association des gabonais d'Amiens writes about a monument in Airaines, a small French village of 2,000 people, dedicated to Charles Ntchorere, a Gabonese captain in the French army [Fr] who was taken prisoner and executed by German forces in 1940.
Madagascar, France: Expulsion of French Citizens Raises Concerns about Government's Authoritarianism
Two French citizens, Christian Chadefaux and Father Urfer, who both lived for decades in Madagascar, were declared persona non grata by the Malagasy government last month. These decisions came a few days after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France who made the expulsion of illegal immigrants one...
