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As of the end of the month of February 2012, the mobilization efforts of Internet users against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [en] were still going strong. In fact, they may have begun to bear fruit.

By including infringements against the author's rights in its scope, this international treaty, which addresses intellectual property rights, also affects Internet content.

The ratification debates which were placed on the European Parliament's agenda on February 29, were put on hold in expectation of the opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The issue of the treaty's conformity with European Community law was brought before the court on 22 February by the European Commission.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo by Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Taurillon, the “magazine of young Europeans -France” describes “Europe's about-face on ACTA“:

Si l’avis est négatif, l’ACTA n’a plus aucune chance en Europe. Mais en cas d’avis positif, le recours à la CJUE représente le double avantage de redonner au traité une certaine crédibilité, et de repousser son adoption à une époque suffisamment lointaine pour que la polémique se soit tassée et que l’opinion publique regarde ailleurs.

Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson for la Quadrature du Net urges on the European deputies:

Les eurodéputés doivent résister à la stratégie de la Commission européenne, qui cherche à gagner du temps et à transformer le débat en une simple discussion juridique, et pour cela continuer à travailler au rejet d’ACTA. ACTA vise à imposer une tendance pour une politique globale du droit d’auteur qui est toxique pour l’Internet libre et pour les libertés. Le Parlement européen est le dernier rempart : il doit agir et adopter une position claire et forte, faute de quoi il laissera le champ libre à la Commission pour imposer une répression inacceptable.

For trucbuntu, there is no question of remaining passive while waiting for the Court to adjudicate:

Les citoyens de toute l’Europe peuvent contacter leurs représentants dans les commissions Commerce International (INTA) et Industrie (ITRE), qui se réunissent cette semaine pour discuter d’ACTA, et leur demander de continuer à travailler au sein de leur commission pour le rejet d’ACTA.

The website of the European Parliament explains the procedure and the issues of the treaty [en] that are under scrutiny, and has published ‘What you should know about ACTA‘ [en], a page of questions and answers. The ACTA workshop of the European Parliament has been the object of a storify [en] made by the Parliamentary services (link via Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras [en]).

The organization AVAAZ submitted a petition to the European Parliament on 29 February with 2.4 million signatures against ACTA. The petition is still open:

Nous sommes vraiment proches de la victoire — notre pétition forte de 2,4 millions de signatures a ébranlé les responsables politiques partout en Europe et stoppé les censeurs. La Commission européenne est à présent en position de faiblesse et espère que la Cour de justice donnera son feu vert au traité ACTA en lui soumettant une question juridique très limitée qui recevra certainement une réponse positive.Mais si nous faisons résonner nos voix aujourd'hui, nous pouvons faire en sorte que la Cour examine tous les impacts légaux du traité ACTA et publie un avis qui fera toute la lumière sur cette attaque contre nos droits qu'est ACTA.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Anti-ACTA parties continue to  strengthen their resources. New protests were set for 10 March, and torrentnews gives a list, with this appeal:

La liste n’est pas exhaustive, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour la compléter ;)

si certains se sentent l’âme d’un reporter- photographe en herbe, nous recherchons également des personnes pour faire un petit article photo du déroulement de la manif, rien de bien compliqué, comme fait ici pour Nice, Marseille,Bordeaux et Strasbourg.

For details on the elements of the debate, see also these linked articles from the Tribune on February 29, and Myeurop, on March 3. On Global Voices, see the laws SOPA/PIPA that set a precedent in the USA, here [en] and here [en]. Since the beginning of the protests, ACTA seems to have lost a lot of political momentum.

Written by Suzanne Lehn · Translated by Danielle Martineau · View original post [fr] · comments (0)
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The year 2011 will be remembered for the European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy, but also for its hard consequences on everyday life. The crisis began in 2007 and is without precedent in post-war economic history. Europe is living its darkest economic days since the 1930s.

Due to the growing importance of the topic and due to the diffusion of social media platforms, in recent months there has been a proliferation of “economic blogging” (and tweeting). Opinion, thoughts and reactions abound online trying to make sense of what future awaits the Eurozone.

Considering VAT increases, along with salary, pension and benefit cuts, some basic goods are becoming less affordable. Indian blogger Deepankar Basu wrote on the indian economic website Sanhati:

These [austerity] measures reduce expenditure and increase taxes in order to reduce government deficits. Cutbacks in government spending and increases in taxes, at this particular moment, however, amount to the worst possible policy stance, reducing aggregate demand even further, and pushing the economies deeper into recession.

Sovereign debts, junk ratings: protests take to the street

Camp site at Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Julio Albarrán, republished under a CC License.

The crisis is perceived to have started within three countries - Ireland, Greece and Portugal - but quickly spread to Spain and Italy.

Since the international rating agencies gave their assessments (ratings) for each national solvency (the ability to pay public debt) it seemed they “held the wand” over the Eurozone’s future. This power over the fate of each state provoked strong debates all over Europe, with many questioning the legitimacy of their analysis.

In Portugal, for example, there was a strong commotion and reaction when the independent American financial analysis firm Moody's called Portuguese debt “junk debt”.

But the core of the protests occurred in May. It all started in Spain with the 15M movement, mainly coordinated by the youth organization Democracia Real Ya [es], which was extremely active online and organized massive demonstrations against corruption, unemployment, and a political structure allegedly favouring a two-party system.

The acampadas born in Plaza del Sol in Madrid quickly “infected” other Spanish cities, such as Barcelona, Sevilla and Malaga. In a few weeks other movements became active in other European Countries and globally, later the Occupy Wall Street movement.

"#campmap for "#worldrevolution" - More than 600 demonstrations and camp outs were ignited in solidarity with Spanish protesters by the end of May, 2011.

Some, including mainstream media [es], soon made connections between the the so-called Spanish Revolution and the Arab Spring.

Como si se tratara de la plaza Tahrir, en Egipto, escenario de las protestas populares[es]. El caldo de cultivo del derrocamiento de Hosni Mubarak. Esto es distinto pero puede ser el embrión de algo. Quién sabe.

Solidarity to the Spanish movement came soon from Greece, which has been the first European Union country to taste the sting of IMF/ECB austerity since 2010. Particularly in Greece the anti-austerity protests have been strongest. In June there were peaceful protests and gatherings at Syntagma (Constitution) Square, and when protesters planned to surround the House of the Parliament the day for which the vote for the Mid-Term Austerity Programme had been scheduled, there were violent clashes with the police.

Protests and demonstrations continued over the summer especially in Spain and Greece. But only the big reforms and the austerity plans widely adopted in “PIIGS” countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) late in the autumn marked a turning point of the European debt crisis.

“Blood and Tears”: the austerity recipe

The pressure of the financial markets and recommendations coming from European Commission urged some governments to adopt  so-called austerity measures aimed at eliminating unsustainable budget deficits. Recipes seem to have some common traits across countries: cuts on social spending and social services, additional taxes, VAT increases and salary cuts with citizens paying for the crisis.

In Spain the intense social debate over the economic recovery plan led to new protest in September when the #reformazo (#bigreform) was announced. Spain, and later Italy, decided to introduce constitutional changes to limit public spending (budgetary stability). In turn, there were protests throughout the country organized by the assemblies of Puerta del Sol and by the entire 15M movement against what Real Democracy Now! has called the Financial Coup D'État.

Runner statue mocked up as a rioter. Photo courtesy of the Athens indignants' multimedia team, licensed as CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

In Greece in October there was an unprecedented protest during the ‘Ochi Day‘ (No Day) Parade since Greeks were angry for the relentless and ineffective austerity measures, culminating in the “haircut” deal negotiated by banks and European politicians, which many fear signifies the beginning of a new foreign “occupation” of the country.

The impact of the austerity recipes have been particularly severe in Greece where suicides and criminality are mounting, and where social and health assistance is becoming more and more expensive. The reportedly high cost (that can reach 1000 euros) for childbirth in public hospitals is only one example of adverse social impacts of the current crisis.

But there are also chronicles of the victims of the explosive cocktail of the housing bubble, the financial crisis, and high unemployment rates. Thousands of families are now without homes. A large campaign started in Spain against housing speculation, to stop evictions and relocate families to unused buildings.

Mobilizing on the streets and the Internet

Apart from economic issues and their implications for the people of European countries, democratic participation and citizenship rights occupy the public debate. The massive participation in protests and demonstrations against austerity measures - both online and in the streets - was something new on the European political scene.

Many, such as in Portugal, have pointed out there was an alternative to the top-down measures imposed by EC, IMF and ECB so that the Iceland’s practice of direct democracy became a model. Since Iceland refused an international bailout, many argued that there could be a different solution for the current crisis than ten years of severe budget restrictions to bail out bondholders.

But there was also another issue that emerged in recent months, since there have been crucial changes of government in three European countries. While in Spain the change was due to early elections, the new prime ministers in Greece and in Italy were chosen by the head of state, without any popular approval.

The resignation of Silvio Berlusconi in Italy was particularly important not only for the country, but for the whole European Union, since the country needed to calm financial markets in order to keep interest rates on sovereign debt under control. After the “Party for Berlusconi's resignation” soon Italians and Europeans involved in the crisis had to face the ugly reality they have to live with.

As Europe’s financial woes intensify, austerity reigns, the crisis deepens and economists are forecasting an (unprecedented?) recession, maybe 2011 will be remembered as a “lost year” of the European economic history.

This page is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis and 2011 on Global Voices.

Written by Paola D'Orazio · comments (3)
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Economists would be hard pressed to forecast the future of Europe's bailouts and the consequences of the current financial crisis. While opinions differ, reactions abound online to try to make sense of what future awaits for the Eurozone.

Where is the economy going? That question was put to Maria Karchilaki, a Greek  journalist and the Foreign Desk Anchor/Correspondent for MEGA TV. She replied:

@karhilam: @efleischer I don't know, really. I'm not optimistic, though. This is an economic Katrina and we are still in the middle of it.

Euro coin. Image by Civitas (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

None of the region’s biggest banks pass a stress test. BNP Palibras has slashed its exposure to Italy and Greece, as has RBS, even though it is apparently awash with liquidity. Dexia, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, and HSBC are seeking to cut their exposure.

France is planning to cut 20% of its budget deficit, Ireland is planning 12.4 billion in budget cuts and ECB (European Central Bank) interest rates are being kept at 1.25%.

On the micro level, people are not in a charitable mood, one retired truck driver in Greece went so far as to tell The New York Times:

[I am] impressed that the people have not yet stormed into Parliament and burned the politicians alive — like a souvlaki [type of kebab].

The question, “Where will the economy go over the next two months?” was put to the following reporters and Twitter users before the resignation of former Greek Prime Minister Papandreou and former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.

Efthimia Efthimiou, a Greek journalist, writes:

@EfiEfthimiou: @efleischer … difficult to say right now. Things r changing from hour to hour …

Yannis Koutsomitis, another journalist, replied:

@YanniKouts @efleischer There is a strong possibility that political logic will prevail in Italy and Greece in the next few days. That could calm markets for a while. If political turmoil in these countries continues there's a real chance the euro zone crisis will climax with unpredictable outcomes.

Right now the outcomes are pointing in this direction: John Reed of The Financial Times writes that Italian tyre producer Pirelli has “drafted a contingency plan that factors in a 10 per cent drop in car sales and 20 per cent fall in truck sales globally. That would be a drop as big as that seen after Lehman Brothers’ collapse.” (Though that's emphasized as a worst-case scenario.)

Meanwhile, a WikiLeaks cable written in 2010 began to get to work on (if it's necessary) how one might go about declaring a ‘Eurozone Chapter 11‘.

Douglas Fraser at the BBC discusses what would happen if multiple defaults were in the cards:

If Greece, Portugal and Ireland hit that level of default, half of German banks' capital buffers are gone, a third of Belgium's and a quarter in France and the UK.

But there are indirect effects as inter-bank insurance and lending unravels, and that wipes out 100% of German banks' core tier 1 capital.

Belgium's left with only 7%, France with 25% and the UK with 50%. Britain would take a hit from Ireland in particular, but RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have already written down a lot of their exposure.

And what about adding Italy and Spain? The figures are eye-watering.

The direct effects would require governments to recapitalise German and French banks with 125% of their current core capital, meaning nationalisation.

…

But add in the indirect effects, and you find it would require 275% of German banks' core capital, 270% in Belgium, 225% in France and 130% in the UK.

At that point, Germany is only able (it would hope) to meet the bailout requirements of its own banks, while it is every other eurozone country for itself.

On another FT blog, Alan Beattie writes that:

[…] if the ECB can’t bring itself to bail out Italy direct (sovereign credit risk, no expertise in setting lending conditions) it could in theory, according to Article 23 of its protocol, lend vast amounts to the IMF

The IMF would then set about bailing out Italy (which Megan Greene sees as on the cards ('bail-in'), as does The Economist to a degree), which at the end of it all - amongst all this information - is better than nothing.

Reached by email, RTE's Paul Cunningham said, in answer to the question “Do you have any hope that the ECB might use its position as a central bank to encourage growth instead of austerity?”, that (posted with permission from the sender):

The new ECB President, with the interest rate cut, has illustrated that he's prepared to be pragmatic. There was a question if Mr Draghi might have felt the need
to prove his Germanic credentials by holding off a rate cut until December, on the basis that inflation was above 2%. . The fact that the cut happened at his first meeting
would suggest he is his own man. The debate as to whether or not there ever should have been a rate increase will rumble on for years.

On the wider issue of the ECB's role, it would appear that the President will continue to follow JCT in buying-up bonds in the secondary market, but not in the volume to
alleviate the crisis. There is nothing to suggest that Draghi is prepared to allow the institution become the Lender of Last Resort. In my view, this can only change when
Germany changes ie when the crisis develops to such an extent that the German taxpayer is faced with the ultimate crisis - if we stick to our principles on fiscal control,
the euro collapses.

It's often argued that when Europe is faced with a crisis, it needs to stand at the brink before the deal is done. This time it seems to need Germany to stand at the cliff edge
- if the euro goes, the DM will return, and - immediately - it's export led economy will be in danger. Who will buy their goods when the price has ballooned due to the DM?
Sooner rather than later, deeply-held principle is about to crash against the reality posed by the volatile bond markets.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

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The MV Saoirse has been reportedly sabotaged while at berth in the Turkish coastal town of Göcek and will now not be able to take part in the flotilla, says the Irish Ship to Gaza Campaign.

A total of 300 activists from around the world are taking part in the six-vessel flotilla to Gaza, which is aimed at breaking Israel's siege on Gaza and to deliver humanitarian aid to its population. It follows in the heels of last year's Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which ended tragically when Israeli forces boarded the flotilla after it had declined to change its course to the port of Ashdod, where Israel had promised to inspect the aid and deliver non-banned items to Gaza.

Sabotage of the MV Saoirse. Image by irishshiptogaza.org.

Nine passengers of the Comoros-flagged MV Mavi Marmara, which was part of the six-ship flotilla, were reported killed by Israeli soldiers who landed on the ship and 10 Israeli soldiers were injured.

This year's attempt, which includes nationals from Canada, the US, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Norway and the UK, among others, is a highly politicized campaign and activists are using social media creatively to encourage press coverage and global support. The US Boat to Gaza website is inviting journalists to come look at the entire boat in a press release on their homepage.

smac shares footage and photographs of the damage the Irish vessel had encountered here. He writes:

On Monday the ships 3 crew members, Shane Dillon, John Hearne and Pat Fitzgerald; along with Clr Gerry MacLochlainn, Charlie McMenamin (both from Derry) with John Mallon and Phil McCullough (both from Belfast) set sail on the MV Saoirse for re-fueling and a test run.

On the way back to port Pat Fitzgerald, ship’s engineer, noticed that something was very wrong with the boat. Upon returning to the dock the first inspections began, it was then we realised that sabotage had been done to Ireland’s boat.

The campaign reports “deep cuts inflicted onto the propeller shaft,” which was “also seriously and dangerously bent.”

This same type of sabotage was done to another vessel in Greece only days ago. This was a vicious attack on Irish property by international terrorists against a boat flying the Irish flag. The ship is so damaged it will now be unable to take part in the Flotilla. However arrangements are being made to find seats on other ships for as many Irish passengers as possible.

Fintan Lane is seen here speaking about the damage the ship suffered:

Irish Times foreign affairs correspondent Mary Fitzgerald reports:

@MaryFitzgerldIT: Irish ship due to sail in Gaza flotilla has problems with propeller. Organisers believe it may have been sabotaged. http://bit.ly/leKYKE

She continues:

@MaryFitzgerldIT: Irish taking part in Gaza flotilla accuse Israel of sabotaging their ship and call on Irish govt to raise issue with Israeli counterparts

And adds:

@MaryFitzgerldIT: Irish FM is ‘concerned' re reports Irish ship in Gaza flotilla sabotaged. Says will take ‘very serious view' if sab proved in investigation

A Facebook page, calling for a sit-in in Dublin to protest against the damage the ship has suffered, has been set up.

The page says:

The Irish Ship To Gaza have called an EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION for today in response to this outrageous act. We are calling on people to assemble at 6pm at the Spire in O'Connell Street. From there we will march to the Israeli Embassy and stage an overnight sit-in outside (so bring sleeping bags etc). We intend to shut down the Israeli Embassy!

We need this demo to be as loud as possible, so if you have drums, bodrans, whistles, whatever, please bring them along.

This act of sabotage against a peaceful humanitarian civil society mission (which has been paid for by 1000s of ordinary Irish people) must be protested in the strongest terms possible.

Like many, Egyptian Twitter user Khaled Khalil accuses Israel of bullying when he read about the sabotaging of the Irish ship:

@Kh-Khalil: #Israel bullying RT @notmytribe: Irish MV Saoirse becomes 2nd victim of sabotage, cannot sail with Gaza Flotilla http://bit.ly/jrP7dh

Israel accuses the flotilla campaign, which attempts to breach its maritime blockade of Gaza, as a “clear political provocation.”

On Twitter, Tony Karon, from New York, quips:

@TonyKaron: Sure, Gaza flotilla is a provocation - mass non-violent civil disobedience of an unjust order. Dr King led plenty such provocations #fb

Tweets from the Irish Ship to Gaza can be found here.

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For example, syrianews, a British-Syrian, made it clear who he thought the winner might be:

I am going to be quite delighted to see England embarrass the United States of America tomorrow. That's 'soccer' I'm talking about.

As the game got going, Global Voices' own 2010 Twitter account shared a fun fact about Team USA:

11 of the 23 players on the US team come from a home where at least 1 parent was born in a foreign country

Washington, D.C.-based Fadi Elsalameen, who was watching the game in public, quipped:

Where is the US offense ? A guy next to me yelled “In Iraq?”

Belgian/South African sisiwami noted, perhaps with pride, that everyone was watching South Africa:

so right now the whole of the USA and UK are staring at South Africa

Referencing the game of American football, Egyptian Alaa Abd El Fattah joked in response:

@khadijapatel @sisiwami yes bet the whole of USA keeps wondering when will they do a touch down

British James Cook referenced the recent BP oil spill, in this play on words:

Americans celebrate a British spill, for a change.

Belfast-based Keith Anderson also found a way to joke about the oil spill:

“hey england, your goalie is as leaky as your oil rigs.” #worldcup #usa #eng #ilovediggcomments

As the game ended, it was evident that American fans had–at least temporarily–found a new sport to love.  Laura Barr, based in Missouri, is waiting in anticipation for the next games:

#USA has only played one #WorldCup game and already my voice is shot. I fully expect to sound like a man the rest of the tournament.

Written by Jillian C. York · comments (1)
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The ship, called the MV Rachel Corrie, set sail from Ireland carrying 11 passengers and 9 crew members from 5 countries, mostly Ireland and Malaysia.  Included amongst the passengers were Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, Parit Member of the Malaysian Parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, and former UN Assistant Secretary General, Denis Halliday.

As the MV Rachel Corrie neared Gaza, however, it became apparent that Israel was going to once again prevent the ship from delivering aid and thus breaking the siege. At approximately 10:00 UTC+3, US-based Remroum reported that Israel had asked the ship to change its course:

Shortly thereafter, reports began to emerge that the Rachel Corrie had been intercepted by the IDF and forced to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod. On Twitter, Malaysian activist JuanaJaafar noted:

Gaza Under Siege tweeted a video

from Iranian-backed Press TV, which aired shortly after the MV Rachel Corrie was stopped by the IDF. The video, which includes commentary from journalists on the ground, shows the ship being intercepted:

Efe Moral, who is based in Turkey, live-tweeted much of the Flotilla events and noted that after the ship was intercepted, the aid would be taken to Gaza:
Reports have also emerged that Israeli forces have refused to call the ship by its registered name, the MV Rachel Corrie, and have instead referred to it as “Linda,” its previous name. The Rachel Corrie Foundation tweeted this:

A video put forth by the IDF confirms this (00:31):

There is considerable anger regarding the fact that the MV Rachel Corrie was intercepted, but also a sense of relief that the passengers are safe.  Lastly, as journalist Hossam el-Hamalawy points out on Twitter, Rachel Corrie herself has been immortalized with the MV Rachel Corrie's mission:

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A few minutes after the plane's departure, the pilot and the Irish airport luggage service were informed about the explosive. The next mistake was that the police superiors were only informed about the missing explosive on Monday.

The Slovak police used the airport's camera surveillance system to identify the man who owned the luggage. They contacted him in Ireland with a message saying he had to wait for the Irish police to collect the material. On Tuesday morning, the Irish police was informed. Who knows how, because instead of just getting the explosives, they enclosed the area near the passenger's flat and detained him for a few hours.

Complications continued when the information spread to the media. CNN initially spoke about the incident from Bratislava airport (a different airport, which also had a similar training going on at the time). Slovak TA3 at first reported that the traveler carried as much as 90 kilograms of explosives without knowing it. This, combined with the initial lack of information and varying versions, initialized thousands of netizens' comments.

Here is a selection of some comments that I had the patience to read through:

bledomodry:

They will punish the dog that did not find the explosive by lowering food portion to one half and in the evening they will forgive him half of punishment because of good manners.

kriqx:

A head will fall - of that journalist hyena who published it

sloboda prejavu:

Did someone at least apologize to that poor person?

citronsk:

Of course - the Irish police

radsej som zdrhol:

… and i must admit that our [policemen] still have to learn from the French ones because the Frenchies during similar training in December 2004 even did not know where and by what plane their lost sample had flown away. [here's a BBC report on the 2004 incident]

Here are some more reactions, from another source:

Juraj Lörinc:

Just now i heard the foreign minister say on TV that we will send more humanitarian aid abroad

percento:

What if it was the other way around and the police just covered for a real terrorist? I mean what if he really wanted to destroy that plane and just forgot the detonator, and the police took it upon themselves to be not able to say that Slovakia had incapable terrorists! they are saving the good name of Slovakia and do not care at all that they get draggled all over newspapers

Tomas Bily:

… and next, I completely, really completely, do not understand why Mr. “Steve” did not unpack for two days, or he thought it was a randomly packed cell phone?

Jozef Drahovský:

Let's be glad that … the plane flew to Dublin and not to Beijing because a 49-year-old Slovak electrician could be also executed.

A discussion at SME.sk forum:

Jiří Ščobák:

Let's be glad that … plane did not fly to the USA … if it had been the USA, that person would have been denied entry to the country.

Jarry:

… or the mentioned person after short time will from his heart admit that he wanted to assassinate and explode the plane

occams_razor:

… finally Slovakia should have representation at Guantanamo, too.

Viera Šimkovičová:

… when I imagine that I'm traveling with my baby and somewhere they arrest me because our officers put something into my luggage during an enhanced anti-terrorist protection … according to TA3, they spent three hours questioning that man.

Martina_M:

… from what I know about the Irish people, two and a half hours he was waiting until a vacant room was found

jožinzbažin:

… and maybe finally foreign tourists will get interested in our Gotham - where else would they pack you a free bomb into your luggage?

Reactions from another forum:

Frankie I have 3 bombs, you 4, it's together 8
So let's go to drink a beer…

***

After arrival - What do you have in that suit case? How can I know it…. Oh, mister is from Slovakia

***

We're asking passengers … to switch off mobile phones and other electronics equipment. Passengers from Slovakia also make sure that today they haven't packed detonators in your luggage. Have a nice flight.

***

The probability that the plane you're traveling on has one more bomb in addition to the official police bomb is quite high. A solution: Take your own bomb. The probability that there are three bombs is much lower.

***

How many Slovak policemen are necessary for a terrorist attack?
Two - one will hide the bomb and the second will not find it.

***

I wish to express profound regret on the part of the US for failing to categorize and properly label DVDs obviously sold to your country. Odd as it may seem, the “Police Academy” video series was never intended as instructional.

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Here's a collection of photographs sourced from Flickr:

Osama Al-Eryani, Calgary

infomatique, Dublin

Alalettre, Paris

Jewish Voice for Peace, Seattle

farfahinne, Beirut

Hamza Daoui, Boston

The Electronic Intifada also posts a round up of reactions from around the world here.

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