· August, 2006

Stories about Western Europe from August, 2006

Jamaica: In-house terrorist

  30 August 2006

A Jamaica-born Muslim cleric who has been convicted in the UK for incitement to murder is about to be deported back to his homeland. “As if our gun-toting criminals aren't enough, now we have to worry about terrorist threats because we'll have our own soon to arrive, fresh from England,...

Africans in France: Riots’ First Anniversary

  29 August 2006

Senegalese blogger Semett worries that (Fr) not much has changed for communities of color in France since last year's summer riots: “Despite the temporary emotions, we don't get the impression that anything has changed since. Our brothers and sisters continue to live in unsanitary and dangerous conditions. Whether it is...

Global Food Blog Report #29

  28 August 2006

#1: Maika's Blog on Haitian Food: "Griot" (pronounced: greee-yo ) a popular Haitian original.  Which is fried pork shoulder accompanied with a spicy hot as habanero cole slaw like condiment called “Picklese” (s pronounced like a z).  And served with a side of fried flatten green plaintain "bunan passe" (...

Caribbean: Exporting Carnival

  25 August 2006

“. . . it's interesting how these festivals have echoed, in a small way, the evolution of their original model in Trinidad, as a vehicle of solidarity, an assertion of identity, a gesture of defiance in a hostile environment,” says Jeremy Taylor, writing about the Carnivals “exported” by the Caribbean...

Jamaica, UK: Linton Kwesi Johnson

  25 August 2006

Geoffrey Philp extends birthday greetings to Britain-based Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson: “He became only the second living poet to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Creole over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae...

61st Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day

  20 August 2006

In commemorating the 61st anniversary of independence day, Indonesian bloggers have many ways to celebrate it. Agusti Anwar highlights the meaning of flag as a symbol of nation and nationalism: Flag is indeed a formal expression of recognition. To that effect, if a people dispose or pull out recognition of...

Jamaica, Germany: Marlon James on Grass

  18 August 2006

Jamaican novelist Marlon James offers his two cents’ on German novelist Günter Grass's recent admission that he was once a member of the Waffen SS: “I would think that a man who was in the elite SS going on to become the very conscience of his nation, would speak to...

Cameroon: No to French Monuments in Africa

  18 August 2006

Le Pangolin posts (Fr) an interview of Mboua Massock, a Cameroonian arrested for protesting the presence in Cameroon of monuments to French colonial personalities. Mr. Massock, who recently appeared in front of a preliminary tribunal to answer to charges of degradation of public property says: “France installed the statue of...

A Google Earth Canary Islands Conspiracy?

  17 August 2006

In late July Google updated the satellite imagery of the Canary Islands in both Google Earth and Google Maps. The former satellite images from 2005 and 2006 were replaced by images belonging to the Canary public company Grafcan. While some applauded the partnership of Google with a local mapping company,...

Global Food Blog Report #28

  15 August 2006

#1: From Tanzania, MiRecipe.com spices up the day with an incredible easy and delicious recipe to prepare "Chatini Ya Ukwaju" (Tamarind Chutney). It is great with bread, and a tasty addition to your salad, fish or chicken dishes. Recipe in EN and Swahili. Get the recipe now! #2: From Germany,...

Estonia: Comparison With Finland

  14 August 2006

Bonjour l'Estonie compares Finland to Estonia: “Many Finns expected Estonia to build a Social-Democratic style welfare state, and were surprised and to some degree miffed that Estonia, which they wanted to regard as a little brother, chose to model itself after America rather than after Finland.”

Indonesia: Toilet with a View

  9 August 2006

Maya, an Indonesian blogger in France finds an open air toilet on an ancient wall by the Mediterranean sea and wonders if anyone ever uses it.

Food Blog Report #27

  6 August 2006

#1: From Stockholm, Sweden: Clivia's Cuisine and her marvelous Swiss chard dolmadas with rice and mushrooms! A gem of a recipe, and it looks delicious… Last week I visited Rosendals trädgårdar at Djurgården in Stockholm and found a big bunch of Swiss chard for only 15 SEK, so I bought...