Stories from 17 June 2008
The Balkans: Ingeborg Beugel
Say: Macedonia quotes from an interview with Ingeborg Beugel, “a Dutch reporter and author of several documentaries about the crimes committed in Bosnia”: “In an interview for the online site Sarajevo-x.com, she talks about the rise of the Greek nationalism and the participation of Greek mercenaries in the war in...
Lithuania: Deportations Anniversary
Lituanica writes about the 67th anniversary of the mass deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia.
Lithuania: Lietuva
Bieksia’s Weblog suggests changing Lithuania's official English name to “Lietuva” – which is Lithuania's name in Lithuanian.
Latvia: Flags and Commemorations
Baltic writes about flag-flying and commemoration days in Latvia.
Hungary: 50 Years Since Imre Nagy's Execution
Hungarian Spectrum and ExecutedToday.com write about the 50th anniversary of the execution of prime minister Imre Nagy.
Hungary: Violence Against Roma
Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian extreme right and the anti-Roma violence.
Russia, U.S.: Entry Visas
A Budapest-based American writes at Pestiside.hu about the painful process of getting a Russian entry visa.
Estonia: Tax System
AnTyx writes about Estonian economic policies and tax system.
Czech Republic: Anti-Globalization Rally
The Czech Daily Word writes about the anti-globalization rally that took place in Brno this past Saturday, and about the way some of the activists were treated by the riot police.
Bulgaria, Romania: Labor Migrants
Nicolaus Mills explains at Comment is Free why Britain hasn't seen the much-feared “‘tidal wave’ of immigrants” from Bulgaria and Romania.
Bulgaria: Gay Pride on June 28
Petya of Bighead writes about the upcoming gay pride parade in Sofia: “… I've already seen notes from the Bulgarian major nationalist party urging their supporters to organize a counter-protest…At any rate, it is so insane, I am embarrassed to even translate it.”
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Biggest Bosnian Coffee Pot
A picture of “the world's biggest Bosnian coffee pot” – “cheesy tourist fun! :)” – at YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett.
Croatia: Entry Visas for Albanians
Albanian Blogger relates his frustrating experience of getting Croatian entry visas for himself and his colleagues.
China: Prepping for Beijing
Head of Sports Science and Research of the British Olympic Association Marco Cardinale looks back at recent posts on his blog and elsewhere as his preparations for the Beijing Olympics heat up.
China: Beijing students forced out for Olympics?
In ‘Beijing University Students Booted from Dorms for Olympics,’ Truth From Facts blogger nator gets a tip-off to that effect from a friend, in the form of an A4 notice, and goes online to see what those at other Beijing campuses are going through.
China: Olympic mascots from the past
Raider_dad at Fark.com forums posts a link to a list of all Olympic mascots dating back to 1968. Seeing Amik the Montreal beaver, reader Visceral Realist quips: “1976 looks nothing like the beavers I've seen.” See if you recognize (or remember) the rest here.
China: Olympic torch passes over Tibet
The BeijingWideOpen blogger is watching closely as the Beijing Olympic torch skipped over Tibet today and went straight to Xinjiang.
China: Learn Chinese for the Olympics
Via FreeLanguage.org we find that Chinese education 2.0 site ChinesePod.com has prepared a curriculum set especially for Olympic visitors, covering everything from dealing with mosquito bites to the Beijing dialect to getting around the Olympic Village.
Iraq: Hospitals Getting Better
Iraqi hospital care is improving, notes Inside Iraq in this post.
Iraq: Breaking Stereotypes
Iraqi Khalid Jarrar is in stitches that his brother's Canadian fiancée had ridden camels twice before his Arab brother.
Jordan: Queen's Message
Jordanian Jad posts a YouTube message featuring Queen Rania of Jordan, who calls upon people to dispel some of the stereotypes people have on Arabs.
