Stories from Quick Reads and Netherlands
Transgender girl from Russia commits suicide in a refugee camp
This terrible case exposes the problem of access to psychological and medical care in refugee camps. Representatives of the LGBTQ+ community are at high risk when it comes to suicide.
Hooligans Crash LGBT Community Celebration in Macedonia
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) was among the very few media to report about an attack on the second anniversary celebration of the center for support of the LGBT community in a cafe in the Old Bazaar are of Skopje. On October 23, 2014, some 20 hooded young men attacked...
European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism
“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...
“Beyond Brazil”: European Journalists Wanted for Reporting Trips
Coolpolitics in Portugal announces [pt] an open call for European journalists who want to go on a reporting trip to Brazil in 2014. Twenty-one young reporters from Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Bulgaria will be selected to take part of three different groups that will cover events in Brazil,...
Parallels Between Religious and Copyright Wars
Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control information through overbearing legislation related to copyright and freedom of expression: The religious wars were never about religion as such....
Mainland China's Demand on Infant Formula Milk Becomes a Global Issue
The news about anti-Chinese sentiment in Australia, Germany and the Netherlands as a result of the shortage of infant forumla milk is widely discussed in Hong Kong. Dictionary of Politically Incorrect Hong Kong Cantonese has collected the reports and the online discussion on this anti-Chinese sentiment.
The Netherlands: Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012
Balkan Buro, a Dutch non-profit “dedicated to providing a platform for artistic and cultural encounters between Western and Southeastern Europe,” announces the Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012, which will take place in Amsterdam on Sept. 21-23: “three nights of music, creativity, movies and inspiring debates!”
Bulgaria: Independent Journalists Demand EU Intervention
A group of Bulgarian NGOs and individual journalists issued an open letter [bg, en] to Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, asking for a public meeting because “the situation of the media in Bulgaria is a threat not only for the Bulgarian society, but for the EU as a...
Europe: Dutch Designer Tells Visual Stories on the Crisis
Portuguese journalist Ana Maria Henriques interviews [pt] Noortje van Eekelen (@spectragedy) the Dutch designer who created The Spectacle of the Tragedy, a blog that “tells a visual story about the politicians that navigate the Euro crisis.”
Azerbaijan: Singer-Activist calls for Eurovision Boycott
News and Noise! calls for a boycott of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan by featuring an interview with activist and singer-song writer Cirttan (Azer Mamedov) seeking asylum in the Netherlands. The post also includes a clip, produced by the NIDA civil movement in Azerbaijan, parodying a promotional video...
Netherlands: Hustling a Creative Job Through Twitter
A creative team in Amsterdam, Bas van de Poel and Daan van Dam, show us on this video how they used the twitter microblogging site to catch the attention of creative directors and land themselves a job in an advertising agency.
Europe: Stranger Festival Film Submissions
The Stranger Film Festival is looking for creative short documentaries by youth (younger than 30) from European and neighboring countries in a variety of topics regarding European narratives. Submission deadline is on September 1st. via
Global: Statistics on Countries Participating in World Cup
SRF from GeoCurrent Events blog writes about the economic geography of the 2010 FIFA World Cup participant countries.
Worldwide: Demonstrations for Palestine
Roba from Jordan published pictures from different demonstrations world wide against Israel's last attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, in Holland, Greece, Egypt, United Kingdom, Lebanon, Pakistan, Malaysia, Sweden, France, Turkey, India, Italy, Canada, Spain, Belgium, United States, Bulgaria and Austria.
Netherlands: Twitter campaign against violation of privacy
Dutch internet users have started a campaign on Twitter (@telegraafboycot) to boycott the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf [nl] after it violated the privacy of the sole survivor of the plane crash in Tripoli by interviewing the little boy by phone. The hashtag is #telegraafboycot.
Bosnia: Gay Dutch Soldiers
Kirk Johnson of Americans For Bosnia reacts to retired NATO commander John Sheehan's homophobic comment on the Dutch troops’ performance in Bosnia in 1995: “Regarding the Srebrenica Genocide; there are many things for which we can hold the Dutch military at fault, but allowing gay Dutch citizens to serve their...
Netherlands: Reaction to US general's gay theory of Srebrenica
Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen tweeted [nl] in reaction to a claim by a retired US general that “gay soldiers contributed to the Bosnian massacre” in Srebrenica in 1995: “Extremely weird statement about Srebrenica. I fear this has more to do with the discussion in the US about homosexuality in...
Haïti: No haste about adoptions!
Haïti, après le séisme warns [Fr] about the evacuation of children waiting to be adopted : “To act in haste would be disastrous”. Facing adopting families’ growing impatience and lack of understanding, the NL, U.S. and French governments are taking different stances. From Canada, Secrétariat à l’adoption internationale, as well...
Israel: Can Tel Aviv Become a Biking Mecca?
Can Tel Aviv join the Netherlands and China as an ideal location for cyclists? Ami Vider of Tel Aviv Tomorrow discusses its potential.