Europe and Everything East

Blogging Where Speech Isn't Free

Seeded on Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:08 AM EDT (worldchanging.com)

By the author: "Worldchanging contributor Jon Lebkowsky put together a really excellent group for a panel at SXSW. The panel focused on the challenges of blogging in countries where there's no reasonable expectation of freedom of speech.

politics, blogging, freedom, alternative, freedom-of-speech, blogosphere, press-freedom, globalisation

Journey through a ghost village

Seeded on Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:48 AM EDT (BBC News)

An aid worker with UK-based medical aid agency, Merlin, describes a journey on the edges of South Ossetia, accompanying a pregnant woman to an antenatal appointment.

russia, georgia, politics, war, ethnic-cleansing, caucasus-conflict

Final results for the Zimbabwean House of Assembly

Seeded on Thu Apr 3, 2008 2:11 AM EDT (sokwanele.com)

As per this Zimbabwean blog: "The ZEC has finally announced results for 207 constituencies.

elections, zimbabwe, blogs, politics

The Post-Globalization Era Has Arrived

Seeded on Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:28 AM EDT (lenovoblogs.com)

"In many respects, worldsourcing is both a response to and the product of the forces of globalization - its catalysts - which are causing massive macro- and socio-economic shifts in the global business and consumer landscape. ...

web2-0, technology, collaboration, social-media, crowdsourcing, worldsourcing

Opening up democracy to Islamic parties isn't dangerous

Seeded on Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:47 AM EDT (resetdoc.org)

"I don't think that we can extend the Turkish model to Arab nations, because there is no true democracy there, and because the political groups there have not yet reached maturity in the programmes that they propose."

state, election, politics, democracy, islam, nation, christendom

Phone credit low? Africans go for 'beeping'

Seeded on Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:39 AM EDT (ZDNet)

If you are in Sudan, it is a "missed call." In Ethiopia, it is a "miskin" or a "pitiful" call. In other parts of Africa, it is a case of "flashing," "beeping" or, in French-speaking areas, "bipage."

media, technology, africa, mobile-phones, communications, cell-phones

Is Digital Media Good for Democracy?

Seeded on Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:21 AM EDT (spotlight.macfound.org)

Is Digital Media Good for Democracy? Will digital media transform the nature of civic and political engagement? Will it lead to a stronger democracy?

science, democracy, public, digital-divide, citizenship, information, equality, civil-society

Africa's Village of Dreams

Seeded on Sun Aug 19, 2007 1:23 AM EDT (wilsoncenter.org)

Just two years ago, Sauri was an ordinary Kenyan village where poverty, hunger, and illness were facts of everyday life.

food, politics, africa, development, development-aid, poverty, united-nations, undp, international-cooperation, millennium-village

Ein Land im Praktikum

Seeded on Sat Aug 18, 2007 9:52 AM EDT (brandeins.de)

Die "Generation Praktikum" ist nur eine Generation? Falsch. Das Zurücktreten der Zuversicht betrifft alle und hat drastische Auswirkungen auf das Selbst- und das Lebensgefühl des modernen Menschen:

science, deutschland, leben, psychologie, wirtschaft, soziologie, kommunikation, generation-praktikum, brand-eins

Dumping Hitler

Seeded on Fri Aug 3, 2007 2:41 AM EDT (SPIEGEL ONLINE)

Hitler May Be Stripped of German Citizenship Almost 62 years after his death, Adolf Hitler could lose his German citizenship. A German politician from Braunschweig wants to revoke the Nazi leader's 1932 naturalization -- as a "symbolic step."

germany, politics, adolf-hitler, citizenship, national-socialism, world-war-2

Pappkartons und Bratwurst

Seeded on Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:11 PM EDT (DIE ZEIT: Wissen/Digital)

Das Protestantentreffen in Köln präsentiert sich als bunter Schattengipfel der Globalisierungskritiker. Dass die große Politik die Welt verbessern wird, glaubt hier fast niemand. Eindrücke und Begegnungen

politics, jesus, deutschland, kirche, glauben, kirchentag, jugend

»Hitler gefällt mir«

Seeded on Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:09 PM EDT (DIE ZEIT: Wissen/Digital)

Viele muslimische Jugendliche in Deutschland denken antisemitisch. Und ihre Gewaltbereitschaft wächst

politics, sport, deutschland, berlin, fussball, antisemitismus, jugendtum, radikalismus, fundamentalismus, arabismus

Why Ayaan Hirsi Ali is wrong

Seeded on Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:30 AM EDT (signandsight.com)

Halleh Ghorashi argues only openness to migrants' decisions can help steer clear of cultural fundamentalism.

europe, politics, culture, islam, fundamentalism, feminism, relativism, holland, multiculturalism, emancipation

Arrogance, analogy and Iraq

Seeded on Fri Mar 2, 2007 2:45 AM EST (signandsight.com)

The Iraq War enjoyed more public support among intellectuals than any other war since 1914. Today it can safely be said to have been a disaster.

iraq, europe, usa, politics, public, iraq-war, world-politics, intellectuals, analogies

European Parliament Probing Financing of Anti-Semitist Book

Seeded on Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:45 AM EST (euobserver.com)

Polish MEP Mr. Giertych has caused outrage in Europe recently by circulating a booklet which carries a prominent European Parliament logo on the front cover and making obviously anti-semitist claims.

politics, european-parliament, european-jewish-congress, maciej-giertych, hans-gert-poettering

Web 2.0 can benefit the world's poor

Seeded on Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:35 AM EST (scidev.net)

New web applications can benefit the world's poor, argue Waleed al-Shobakky and Jack Imsdahl. The term 'Web 2.0' captures the transition of the worldwide web from flat websites offering static information to a new computing platform independent of earlier shackles.

web-2-0, africa, development, development-aid, poverty, science, computers, software, third-world, asp

The logic of tolerance

Seeded on Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:36 AM EST (signandsight.com)

The series on multiculturalism continues:

middle-east, europe, science, culture, fundamentalism, christianity, sharia-law, multiculturalism, islamism, modern-law

Falling prey to relativism

Seeded on Wed Feb 7, 2007 3:56 AM EST (signandsight.com)

"Because every commitment to universal values is a kind of fundamentalism, the world is seen as one great clash of "fundamentalisms," with none superior or inferior to any other. For the postmodern relativist, all lifestances and worldviews are of equal value.

human-rights, terrorism, science, the-west, fundamentalism, relativism, liberalism, islamism, universalism, new-dark-age

Atheism: stargazing in sunlight

Seeded on Tue Feb 6, 2007 3:21 AM EST (nthposition.com)

"Faith is not religion. Religion is not faith. [...] Faith in God(s) is much deeper and older than organized religion, which is an artifact of socialization, a mixed bag of cults and corporations with fuzzy edges [...].

science, faith, atheism, pop-culture, theism, luis-bunuel

Flags and Letters

Seeded on Tue Feb 6, 2007 3:18 AM EST (nthposition.com)

An excellent review of Clint Eastwood's two new films, "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "The Flags of Our Fathers":

entertainment, culture, clint-eastwood, movies, reviews, cinema, japanese-kuribayashi

Modern and mythless: Turkey today

Seeded on Mon Jan 8, 2007 9:35 AM EST (signandsight.com)

"The country is like a prefabricated building on historic land. With Turkey's opening to the West, the question is: What is supplanting the Islamic mysticism which, for centuries, provided the inspiration for that countrys music and literature?"

turkey, europe, music, literature, politics, religion, culture, european-union, islam, society

Lifestyle nationalism

Seeded on Fri Dec 22, 2006 5:29 AM EST (signandsight.com)

"21st century nationalism is linked to appearances and emblems; not ethics, but aesthetics, says Bulgarian cultural anthropologist Ivaylo Ditchev."

eu, europe, politics, nationalism, european-union, bulgaria, anthropology, lifestyle

Destination paradise

Seeded on Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:05 PM EST (signandsight.com)

"Islamicist movements are becoming increasingly influential in the Arab world. Yet with few exceptions, phenomena like fundamentalism and religiously motivated terror have hardly been dealt with in Arabic literature."

middle-east, terrorism, literature, politics, arab-world, arts, fundamentalism, multiculturalism, islamism, arabic-literature

The Unwinnable War

Seeded on Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:00 PM EST (eurozine.com)

In the Middle East, a gulf has developed between an elite that has profited from Westernization and the impoverished masses. It is the latter who, in the name of religion, are lured into anti-Western extremism, thus perpetuating the vicious circle of insecurity.

middle-east, europe, security, politics, arab-world, freedom, governance, human-development, eurozine

Woman power can change the world

Seeded on Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:20 AM EST (blog.foreignpolicy.com)

The FP blog comments on the recent publication of the 4th UNDP Arab Human Development Report: "This AHDR report denies that Islam is responsible for male dominance, and instead cites cultural and political factors, as well as wars, occupation and terrorism as obstacles to equalit …

women, terrorism, politics, religion, culture, arab-world, islam, sociology, governance, occupation

– Show More