Stories about Western Europe from February, 2012
Brazil: Dispute Over the Falklands Opens Debate on Economic Perspectives
The 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War and the recent public statements by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner cause us to evaluate those events from new perspectives, including their current implications for Brazil as the largest economy of Mercosur.
International Mother Language Day in Francophone Regions
February 21st is International Mother Language Day. Discussion of the origins of this celebration, and a brief review of current developments in French language and new technologies.
Video Highlights: Defending Human Rights
A selection of Global Voices' recent and interesting stories on video advocacy including indigenous rights and recent news from Latin America, East Asia, Western Europe and Sub Saharan Africa selected by Juliana Rincón Parra.
France : Who is French and who is not?
Abdellali Hajjat, author of the book The Boundires of National Identity: The Injunction to Assimilation in France and its Territories, explains in an interview [fr] on the blog Contretemps the ideological seeds of Islamophobia and the institutional logic that reinforces it. “Racism needs a crutch to provide the principle of...
Portugal: Web Users Debate Portuguese Private Copying Bill
Currently being debated in the Portuguese Parliament is a new bill (PL118) which proposes a tax on any equipment or software capable of recording, copying or storing analogue or digital content, in the name of author's rights. The online community has wasted no time in wading in on the debate, with the hashtag #PL118 duly trending on Twitter.
Italy: Historic ‘Guilty’ Verdict in the Eternit Asbestos Trial
It is a historic verdict: on February 13, 2012 in Turin, northern Italy, the two top senior executives of the multinational Eternit, a producer of asbestos, were sentenced to 16 years in prison after a criminal trial began in 2009. Here are the reactions of the associations and the families of asbestos victims in Italy and Europe.
Greece: Athens, 1st African Film Festival Week
The first African Film Festival will take place in Athens, Greece, from February 23 to 29, 2012, with the collaboration of various African countries’ embassies and consulates. Twenty one films from Angola, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia will be screened. The event is hosted by the Greek Film...
Greece: ‘Catastroika’ Documentary on Public Sector Privatization
A new documentary about the catastrophic consequences of the privatization of the public sector in Greece, entitled Catastroika [el], is in progress. The title comes from the combination of the words ‘catastrophe’ and ‘Troika’ (the tripartite committee led by the European Commission with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, that organised...
Guatemala: Speaking Out on the Genocide of Indigenous Women
The 36 year civil war (1960-1996) that ravaged Guatemala left more than 200,000 people dead and at least 100,000 women raped: most of the victims were Mayan. Finally, the sexual violence perpetrated against Mayan women is being investigated as part of the genocide proceedings taking place in Spanish tribunals.
Morocco: “Stop French Made TGV Rail Project”
StopTGV.com is a web campaign launched by a number of Moroccan NGOs. It calls for the cancellation of the controversial French-made Tangier-Casablanca TGV rail link due to start operating by December 2015 and which is worth an estimated 20 billion dirhams (US$2.4 billion). The campaign calls on the authorities to...
Spain: Crackdown Against Students Continues in Valencia
Just a few days after the police crackdown at the Luis Vives Institute of Secondary Education in Valencia, students have again been the targets of beatings, pushing and violence from the police.
Spain: Police Violence Against Students in Valencia
Students gathered at the Luis Vives Institute of Secondary Education in Valencia to protest cuts and because they have to bring blankets to school due to lack of heating. The police attacked the students, many of them minors, and detained ten students.
France, Equitorial Guinea: The Search for “Ill-Gotten Gains” of an African Head of State
The blogger Menilmuche reports [fr] that a massive search began on February 14th at the home of Teoforo Obiang, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, in his Parisian mansion on Avenue Foch. The search is in response to complaints against some heads of African states in France for...
UK: Video Series to Showcase Local Poets
Highest Point is the first video in a series of nine which will showcase the work of poets in the United Kingdom.
Spain: “We Have Memory, We Want Justice”
The ruling to bar the National Audience Magistrate, Baltasar Garzón from the legal profession for 11 years has caused outrage in Spain and around the world. Chris Moya interviews former Congressman Federico Mayor Zaragoza on Garzón's case and its implications.
China: A Portrayal of Portrayals of Cultural And Ethnic Stereotypes
One Chinese vlogger has gone viral with his impersonation of the accents of a few Asian neighbors and other cultures from around the globe. How much do these differ from similar crude stereotypes you've seen elsewhere?
France: Racial Profiling by Police Officers
The Local blog posts a Human Rights Watch report that states : “French police use broad powers to conduct abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys despite the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.”
France : Dozens of Anti-ACTA Protests
Despite freezing temperatures, a few thousand netizens joined the Saturday Feb. 11 worldwide protests against ACTA, in Paris and some 40 other cities in France. One can find pictures on clubic.com, a video of the protests [fr] on Madmax's blog, an Anti – Acta France Facebook page and the details [fr] of a petition on the Gizmodo blog.
Italy: New Volunia Search Engine Intrigues Blogosphere
Volunia is a brand new search engine which encourages interaction between people searching for the same topics in different languages. It's creation was only recently announced, but already Volunia has caused quite a stir in the blogosphere.
Greece: 13th International Guitar Festival in Volos
On 18-19 February, 2012, the 13th International Guitar Winter Festival will take place [el] in Volos, Thessalia, with participants both in classical and electrical guitar competitions. The event's aim is to bring together guitarists of all ages from Greece and abroad to develop their musical skills and be united under...
Greece: Parliament Votes in New Austerity Deal Amidst Riots
As 200 out of 300 Greek deputies voted in favor of the new austerity deal “Memorandum 2″, these were some of the different scenes. Jimhellas provides his perspective [el] on yesterday's #12febgr huge citizen protest and massive police teargas repression in a post entitled “Mass murder attempt at #Syntagma, as I lived...
