Andre Venter: Europe

EU subsidies kill Albanian farms

Wed, 03 Sep 2003 03:32:17 GMT

Albanian farm land is going to waste because EU subsidies drive farmers out of business - and out of the country.
[BBC News | In Depth | 2003 | Inside Europe | World Edition]

New Prescription Drug in the Netherlands

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 00:37:35 GMT

"Marijuana went on sale Monday at Dutch pharmacies to help bring relief to thousands of patients suffering from cancer, AIDS or multiple sclerosis.

Around 7,000 patients will be eligible for prescription marijuana, sold in containers of .16 ounces at most pharmacies. Labeled 'Cannabis' and tested by the Ministry of Health, the drug will be covered by health insurance for the first time under a new law that went into effect in March." (AP)
[Follow Me Here...]

Europe's Open-Source Revolutionaries

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:36:29 GMT

"What dark passions and ancient evils have been held in check by the grim totalitarianism of the profit motive?" Dark thoughts on dark matters from Bruce Sterling, reporting from the Open Cultures jamboree in Vienna.
[Blogalization Community]

The Art of RSS

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 03:13:54 GMT

Chris Heathcote: "Welcome to the London art aggregator. I provide an RSS feed of art exhibitions in London today. You'll be updated with new openings, and warned when exhibitions are about to finish." Sean Bonner: "The sixspace mailing list is now available in an RSS feed. I'm pretty sure that makes us the first art gallery to provide RSS feeds of both the news section AND the mailing list."...
[Lockergnome's RSS Resource]

Europe's rudest tourists

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 23:27:50 GMT

Catering workers rank the Germans and the British as the rudest customers in the world, according to a survey.
[BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Another Amazon Patent

Sat, 23 Aug 2003 02:54:28 GMT

Hey, the Europeans may be as dumb as the Americans when it comes to granting patents. The European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich has recently granted a patent to Amazon which covers all computerised methods of automatically delivering a gift to a third party. This patent is a descendant of the famous "Amazon One Click Patent" granted in the USA, but with a broader claim scope than the original US version. Read the rest of it. Yeah. There's no prior...
[Jeremy Zawodny's blog]

BBC online probe to begin

Sat, 23 Aug 2003 00:52:02 GMT

The BBC's websites contain more than two million pages and reach up to 43% of the UK population each month...
[BBC News | Technology | World Edition]

Blair on message with e-mail

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 22:52:43 GMT

Downing Street sets up the Prime Minister's first public e-mail address following a campaign by a fellow Labour MP.
[BBC News | Technology | World Edition] Now how long before things eventually progress this far in good old Germany... Next year?

Kaywa - another blog company

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 21:58:17 GMT

"KAYWA Ltd is a privately held company based in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded by a group of weblog enthusiasts in 2003, KAYWA offers products that make publishing on the Internet effortless, mobile and personal. KAYWA believes in the power of weblogs to fundamentally change communication patterns and social networks. It is our mission to help this transition towards a more expressive Internet by creating products that empower users to publish. With KAYWA, users can finally write back."
(via KAYWA AG) [Roland Tanglao's Weblog]

Heat Death Toll Forces a Shocked France to Question Itself

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 21:21:25 GMT

The staggering number of deaths in France is finally drawing the nation's attention to who died and how.
By John Tagliabue. [New York Times: International]

Religious Revival and the Rise of the New Right

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:21:05 GMT

Christian fundamentalism and the concept of Judeo-Christianity has taken over political and religious discourse in Hungary.
[Telepolis News]

Italian Puzzle: The Land That Doesn't Seem to Fit

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 12:45:22 GMT

In garnering more attention than respect, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, has mirrored his country's standing among Western nations.
By Frank Bruni. [New York Times: International]

Finland: Information Economy, Multilingualism, and Public-Private Partnership

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 11:58:53 GMT

"Finland is seen as a pioneering adapter and an important research centre of the new technology. " But you know you've been in Finland too long when ... [Blogalization Community]

Skynet blogs - a new Belgian weblog service

Mon, 18 Aug 2003 00:40:57 GMT

(in Dutch)
[Daypop Top 40]

The Mob of Rome

Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:46:54 GMT

And an e-party on the Avenida Paulista. [Blogalization Community]

Italy's lottery jackpot won

Wed, 13 Aug 2003 23:42:33 GMT

Wednesday's lottery draw produces a winner after mounting suspense for the biggest ever jackpot in Europe. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Loglezer: a One Page Aggregator

Wed, 13 Aug 2003 22:40:04 GMT

You need to understand a bit of Dutch for this ...
(via Adam Curry)

Prague Spring

Wed, 13 Aug 2003 12:21:54 GMT

The Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia. Posters, pamphlets, social protest material. 'In the morning hours of August 21, 1968, the Soviet army invaded Czechoslovakia along with troops from four other Warsaw Pact countries. The occupation was the beginning of the end for the Czechoslovak reform movement known as the Prague Spring. This web site contains material from the days immediately following the invasion, and they reflect the atmosphere in Czechoslovakia at the time: tense, chaotic, uncertain, full of pathos, fear, and expectation... '

Related :- the Berlin Wall and East Side Gallery; A Concrete Curtain: The Life and Death of the Berlin Wall; Szoborpark in Budapest, with its gigantic Cold War-era statues. [MetaFilter]

EU regulations to control web cookies

Mon, 11 Aug 2003 20:47:43 GMT

European laws due to come into force by the end of October will shake up the way businesses are allowed to use cookies on their Web sites.
[The Register]

Italy Slides Into First Recession in 11 Years

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 12:05:06 GMT

The conflict in Iraq hurt consumer confidence and a sharp rise in the euro sapped strength from the Italian economy. By The New York Times. [New York Times: International]

East on the Danube: Hungary's Tragic Century

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 10:47:47 GMT

You know immediately when you arrive in Hungary from Austria that you have crossed from one historical zone, one domain of experience, into another... By Richard Bernstein. [New York Times: International]

EU vs Microsoft: The US reaction

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 00:40:09 GMT

Some interesting US reaction to the EU's verdict on Microsoft, delivered yesterday, is summed up at the Washington Post today. A general thought is that even a $3bn fine - the absolute maximum fine the EU can levy on Microsoft for its abuses of monopoly power - would be good news for the software company. Why? They've got a cash pile of $49bn. The EU could do its worst (which, incidentally, it is unlikely to do anyway) and it would be little more than an irritation at Redmond. Once the EU hands down the fine, Microsoft can pay up and get on with business as usual. There's a quote I like from Forbes's Dan Ackman: "For Microsoft, the long-anticipated charges create a sense of deja vu..." [onlineblog.com]

Any bets?

The EU Constitution

Thu, 07 Aug 2003 00:57:20 GMT

The proposed European Union Constitution will lead to a massive welfare state? Or, "Compare and Contrast the United States Constitution with that of the EU" From a cursory glance at the depth of the document, this detail-oriented Constitution is entirely alien to one such as myself used to the broad Madisonian brushstrokes of the United States Constitution. What are the merits and/or limits of the 'broad' versus 'detailed' Constitution? Is the EU taking on more than a government should by stating provisions for general welfare and environmental awareness? Or, is the EU looking ahead in ways that others have not? [MetaFilter]

Behind the Times

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 23:43:58 GMT

[Telepolis News]

Italy's lotto rises to $70m

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 23:40:34 GMT

The Italian lottery jackpot grows to a European record of $70m as yet another draw fails to secure a winner. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

EU gives 'last chance' to Microsoft

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 21:01:23 GMT

The EU executive says the US software giant has a final chance to comment before action is taken against 'market abuses'. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition] Any bets on whether they'll succeed? (I mean the EU in managing to bring MS to actually comply) I'd say the chances are slim.

Scorching Weather Brings Damage and Death to Europe

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 07:31:59 GMT

Unusually high temperatures and a summer-long dearth of rain have wrought serious damage to crops and weather-related deaths throughout Europe. By Frank Bruni. [New York Times: International]

Ryanair

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 18:41:35 GMT

Ryanair profits grow by 12%. Europe's largest low-cost airline reports a 44m euro profit but suffers an increase in the percentage of empty seats on its flights. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

I don't know how Ryanair can fly me to London for 29 Euros or less and be profitable. Actually... I don't care, I just hope they will continue. ";->" [Paolo Valdemarin: Paolo's Weblog]

More UK war graves vandalised

Sat, 02 Aug 2003 02:53:57 GMT

Vandals damage the graves of British and Commonwealth soldiers in the latest of a spate of attacks on World War I cemeteries in northern France. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

UK bans iPod gadget

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 02:44:44 GMT

A gadget that lets you send songs from Apple's iPod music player to an FM radio has fallen foul of UK laws.
[BBC News | Technology | World Edition]

An open letter to Silvio Berlusconi

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 02:04:50 GMT

The Economist publishes an Open Letter to the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and asks some inconvenient questions... [hebig.org/blog]

Qu'est-ce que un BLOG?

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 01:06:57 GMT

BoingBoing pal Jean-Luc in Paris has assembled an online dictionary of 502 French terms relating to the francophone blogosphere. Link, Discuss [Boing Boing Blog]

Dialogues with Jurgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida, and The mixed-up debate over the new European patriotism:

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 13:30:23 GMT

Philosophy in a Time of Terror:. Dialogues with Jurgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida, excerpt:

"'Many assumptions about politics were destroyed along with the World Trade Center, and Borradori seized the opportunity to ask Habermas and Derrida how their theories fared. These men represent two central strands of European philosophyâo[per thou]the one building on Enlightenment notions of universal rationality, the other suspicious of the commitments often hidden in its language. . . . But Habermas sees the outbreak of terror mainly as a failure of communications, and Derrida sees it above all as a failure to develop a concept of world hospitality to replace what he thinks is the outmoded Christian notion of a toleration that is really only charity. Despite their theoretical convictions, they seem here to see the problems more as philosophical than as a failure to integrate economics and the social sciences or develop a strategy against misery and poverty."

And: The mixed-up debate over the new European patriotism:

"The Iraq War has made for some strange bedfellows, in philosophy no less than in politics. On May 31, Jrgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida issued a joint declaration, ''After the War: The Rebirth of Europe,'' in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and France's La Libration. In it, the great theoretician of communication and consensus and the doyen of deconstruction put aside their considerable intellectual differences to call for a unified European response ''to balance out the hegemonic unilateralism of the United States.'' But what they were really after was the creation of ''a European identity,'' a sense of patriotism to rival that which, for better or worse, has dominated the United States since Sept. 11." Boston Globe

[Follow Me Here...]

French war graves vandalised

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 23:43:58 GMT

Vandals damage the graves of British and Commonwealth soldiers at a WWI cemetery in northern France. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

French geoblogging

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 12:59:17 GMT

There is something fascinating about geoblogging displays. This one is for francophones and makes one thing about the web and the standardization of language. English is unnaturally common.... [tingilinde]

Big Brother..

Sun, 27 Jul 2003 23:18:24 GMT

is tracking you [Telepolis News]

The Beast of Brussels

Sun, 27 Jul 2003 20:11:09 GMT

'No nickname' Ian writes "If you live in Europe you should definitely read this story about a government supercomputer. It's written by Andy McCue from ... [Slashdot]

Collect Britain:

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 13:42:33 GMT

From the british library. OK - I've spent a few hours looking around. The British Library has what will ultimately amount to an uber-site that will make it into my bookmarks (I have 11 at the moment). Go there - it won't be finished... [tingilinde]

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 02:49:45 GMT

Andreotti escapes prosecution. Former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti was "friendly" with the Mafia but will not be prosecuted, a court rules. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Historical London maps:

Fri, 25 Jul 2003 00:30:36 GMT

The Crace Collection online - zoomable and searchable. This is fantastic. Found at the Map Room.

This is the essential guide to the development of the capital from the 16th to the 19th centuries, brought together by the Victorian designer, Frederick Crace. [The Cartoonist]

Thu, 24 Jul 2003 21:40:35 GMT

Flash mob alert! Paris, Rome, now.. A Parisian flash mob appears to be coalescing right now, (Link), and another is forming in Rome (Link), Discuss . (Thanks, (Howard!) [Boing Boing Blog]

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:48:00 GMT

Italy vote boosts media law. Parliament's upper house votes through a controversial law favouring the interests of the prime minister. [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:01:20 GMT

Manuel de Pedrolo: Catalan Master. A translation languishes, an undiscovered country awaits. [Blogalization Community]

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:06:07 GMT

Moblogging the Tour de france. Jean-Luc in Paris says:

Xeni, do you remember Patrik, the Swedish postman who bicycled from Sweden to Gibraltar, moblogging his adventures daily with a Nokia 7650 phonecam and reporting his GPS Position with a Benefon GPS unit? Well, he moblogged live from the famous Tour de France race in the Alps on July 17. Here at the end of the 8th stage point: a live image of the Basque racing cyclist Iban MAYO who won this day, and another live pic of famous and popular racing cyclist Richard VIRENQUE. And on July 18, Patrik (the bicycle mologger) followed the 9th stage point of Tour de France and here, it's the leading racing cyclist of Tour de France (with a Yellow Jacket), he is american and his team is "US Postal" -- Lance AMSTRONG in Galibier pass. And here's a shot of the Swedish postman moblogger in the Alps.

Link, Discuss
[Boing Boing Blog]

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 18:14:44 GMT

Havel Steps Back Into a Familiar Role: Czech Dissident. Six months after he retired from 13 years as president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel is once again his country's foremost political dissident. By Peter S. Green. [New York Times: International]

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 15:32:26 GMT

The Lost City of Venice. For centuries, St. Mark's Square has been slowly slipping closer to Atlantis. Here's how a massive system of floodgates could turn the tide. By Josh McHugh from Wired magazine. [Wired News]

Sat, 19 Jul 2003 00:10:45 GMT

Noch mehr zu Politiker-Weblogs. Ziemlich genau 24 Stunden nach dem Posten meines Eintrags zu Politiker-Weblogs am Dienstag rief mich Sven Przepiorka an. Er hatte eine ganze Menge interessanter Kommentare zu meinem Artikel und zu Weblogs in der Politik überhaupt und so haben wir über eine Stunde lang diskutiert. Einige Punkte aus unserem Gespräch gebe ich hier wieder. [Das E-Business Weblog]

Fri, 18 Jul 2003 23:02:36 GMT

Spam: The EU says "opt-in" only. From the Educause daily email letter:

"Describing spam as a global problem that will require global cooperation to address, the European Commission is calling on the United States to support strict measures to combat the growing tide of unsolicited e-mail. A tough anti-spam law goes into effect this fall in the European Union (EU), and the Commission this week introduced what it called the "second step" in the battle against spam. The EU estimates that one-third of all spam originates in the United States, meaning that cooperation with officials in the United States will be a necessary component to an EU anti-spam strategy. Unlike the opt-out approach apparently favored by the United States, however, European Commissioners are pushing for an opt-in strategy. Philippe Gerard, an official in the office of one European Commissioner, said the EU's pursuit of an opt-in approach would be hampered by an opt-out system in the United States. Gerard said U.S. officials tend to see only malicious or deceptive spam as damaging, whereas EU officials consider any unsolicited message a drain on resources." IDG, 15 July 2003

I think I concur; unless presented with a better contrarian argument. And the sooner. the better! [Harvey Kirkpatrick: itopik.com News]

Fri, 18 Jul 2003 22:27:01 GMT

EU receives draft constitution. The final draft is formally handed over with a warning that attempts to alter it will "tear Europe apart". [BBC News | Europe | World Edition]

Wed, 16 Jul 2003 01:42:00 GMT

Portuguese Parliament to government officials: start blogging. BoingBoing pal Jean-Luc from Paris says:

Xeni, I don't know if you've already heard about this, but a new law was just unanimously passed in Portugal by deputies (Projecto Deliberacao number 10/IX) which provides all deputies the option of having their own website or blog (the word weblog is mentioned in the law!). The deputies' blogs will be hosted on the Portuguese Parliament's webserver. The original piece of news, blogged in Portuguese, is here, from July 07, and and I wrote about it here in French.

I don't read Portuguese *or* French all that well, and I couldn't locate the law on the Portuguese government's website -- but if any readers have access to English language versions of the news, or care to provide a translation, please post in the Discuss forum! Discuss [Boing Boing Blog]