Stories about Western Europe from July, 2012
Spain: Parliamentarian Insults Millions of Unemployed People
During a meeting of congressional representatives, Parliament member Andrea Fabra, amidst applauses, yelled "fuck them!" to millions of unemployed Spanish citizens, following Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's announcement of the harshest cuts in the history of Spain's democracy.
Greece: Online Petition Against the Privatization of Greek Water
An online petition [el], entitled “Save Greek water from privatization” has begun after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ announcement calling for an aggressive programme of privatisation, including water. Main arguments of the petition is that countries in which privatization has been applied has caused an extreme rise of prices and in some cases put public...
Spain: Supporting the Miners: “Yes, Yes, They Do Represent Us!”
Thousands joined in and showed their support for Spanish miners when they arrived in Madrid after walking 400 kilometres from the north of Spain. The miners were surprised at the scale of the mobilisation, which added to the intensity of what is now known as #nocheminera (mining night).
Slovakia: Catholics Protest the Sacking of Popular Archbishop
A concert in support of Róbert Bezák, the popular archbishop of Trnava who was sacked for unknown reasons, took place on Tuesday and was the next step in various protests, including this online petition [sk] as well as worshipping in front of the church [sk] instead of inside it. Three...
France : World Forum for Democracy Will Take Place in Strasbourg in October 2012
The World Forum for Democracy is organized by the Coucil of Europe in Strasbourg from October 5th to 11th, 2012. The blog Démocratie réelle à Nîmes maintenant [fr] republishes the post of blog d'a. spohr [fr]on Mediapart news website, detailing this large-scale project, entitled “Democracy: between old models and new realities. Bridging the gap”....
#TwitterEnCatalà Provokes Tweets of Joy and Hate
Thousands of Catalan-speaking netizens celebrated the fact that Twitter finally speaks their language. The hashtag #twitterencatalà quickly became a trending topic in Spain.
European Union: A Survey Among Immigrants about Integration
Le café pédagogique links [pdf, fr] to the results of a survey launched in 15 cities from 7 U.E. countries, among immigrants in possession of their legal documents and with or without citizenship of their host countries. The questions were aimed at integration, which appears to be highly wished for.
Cyprus: Official Opening Ceremony of EU Presidency
On July 1, 2012, Twitter users commented on the official opening ceremony of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council under the hashtag #cy2012eu. Meanwhile, Peter Spiegel tweeted a photo of a Turkish Cypriot protest poster reading “EU what are you doing ab[ou]t Turkish Cypriots?”. @EUCouncilPress offers a link to...
Greece: Attack on Athens Microsoft Headquarters
On June 27, 2012, arsonists attacked Microsoft's headquarters in Athens, Greece. On Athens Indymedia, a group took responsibility [el] for the attack as an “act of war against suspicious silence and general captivity”. Greek-American startup entrepreneur Eric Thanopoulos-Parks reacted [el] on Facebook: “In its offices, Microsoft incubates Greek startup companies, unsupported at this...
Afghanistan: High School Student Discovers Math Formula
A high-school student in Afghanistan has discovered a mathematical formula for solving quadratic equations. Twitter users have welcomed the news as an indication of improvements in the country's education sector.
Portugal: Citizens Audit of Public Debt Still Without Answers
With the troika's "bailout" operation in full implementation, recession and social woes worsen in Portugal. The Initiative for a Citizens Audit of Public Debt (IAC), launched in late 2011, promised to deepen the debate around the legitimacy, legality and implications of bailout. However, months have passed, and the IAC presents itself as a "great nebula."
Ukraine: Now That Euro 2012 is Over
Although the image of Ukraine has not improved with the help of Euro 2012, the "friendly" grassroots initiatives have certainly contributed to improving the experiences of foreign visitors and left positive memories of Ukraine for many. Tetyana Bohdanova reports.
Colombia: Accessing the Internet in Germany
Ana María Vallejo, a Colombian studying in Germany, has written a two-part series (1, 2) [es] on her experience accessing the Internet in that country. She compares it with her experience in Colombia and describes the restrictions for accessing some content there.
