European Union wins Nobel peace prize
The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee, Thorbjørn Jagland, announces that the European Union is the winner of the 2012 peace prize for its long-term role in uniting the continent. The committee praises the 27-nation bloc for rebuilding nations after the second world war and spreading stability to former communist countries. (via guardian.co.uk)
Picture Gallery - Plight of the Roma
Roma is a term for various groups who have migrated across Europe for centuries and are now the biggest ethnic minority in the European Union, most of them from countries like Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. There are an estimated 10 million across Europe and one in five lives in Romania. The vast majority live on the margins of society in abject poverty, which makes them easy targets in troubled times, and pro-democracy groups say post-communist governments in the region have not done enough to improve their plight. (via Reuters.com)
Protest Songs: Germany Sees Eurovision as Forum for Civil Rights
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Wednesday that the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan on May 26 and the European soccer championship in June, which is being co-hosted by Ukraine, should be used to protest against civil rights abuses in those nations.
“We should use these events to create a critical public forum in order to talk to people and promote our democratic values,” Westerwelle told German newspaper Die Welt. He stopped short of suggesting a boycott, however, saying: “I’m against hastily calling for a boycott of events such as a football tournament and a song competition that don’t have much to do with politics.”
The minister was speaking ahead of a visit on Wednesday to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku as part of a trip to the Caucasus region.
The German government’s human rights representative, Markus Löning, who will be joining him on the trip, has in the past criticized Azerbaijan’s civil rights record, saying it is not a free country, that the political opposition is being suppressed and that there are no free elections. In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in February, Löning had called on Baku to release all its politicial prisoners before it stages the song contest.
Ukraine, too, has been criticized for jailing former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year prison term for alleged abuse of office. Her sentencing last October was seen by the West as politically motivated and derailed the signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.
The rights campaign group Reporters Without Borders said Westerwelle should call for the release of jailed bloggers and journalists when he holds talk with Azerbaijani government officials.
“The Song Contest is a European competition that should be based on European values like freedom and democracy,” the group said in an open letter to the minister. “We therefore bear a special responsibility for those who fight for those values in Azerbaijan — in a climate of fear and not infrequently by putting their lives on the line.” (via SPIEGEL ONLINE)
European Chess Competitions To Be Less Sexy With Strict New Cleavage Rules
The European Chess Union is not about to let you floozies gain an unfair adventure by parading your bosoms around in front of your opponents. Strict new rules govern the accepted wardrobe for woman’s matches. Chessbase News has the details:
The European Women’s Championship is the first where the new ECU Dress Code regulations apply. They are quite specific: regarding décolletés (in the US “cleavage”): “the second from the top button may be opened.” And skirts may be no shorter than 5-10 cm above the knees
(via Gawker)
Yanko Tsvetkov’s stereotype maps - Europe according to the Greeks
This is the world as depicted by graphic artist Yanko Tsvetkov. (via The Guardian)
Yanko Tsvetkov’s stereotype maps - Europe According to Gay Men
This is the world as depicted by graphic artist Yanko Tsvetkov. (via The Guardian)
Yanko Tsvetkov’s stereotype maps - L’Europa Berlusconiana
This is the world as depicted by graphic artist Yanko Tsvetkov. (via The Guardian)
Yanko Tsvetkov’s stereotype maps - crystal ball view of Europe in 2022
This is the world as depicted by graphic artist Yanko Tsvetkov. (via The Guardian)
Satirical floats depict political leaders at carnival parades across Europe - picture gallery
(via Telegraph)
Strasbourg, France
Italian Member of the European Parliament Licia Ronzulli takes part with her daughter in a voting session at the European Parliament in (via Telegraph)
The Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow by marantzer on Flickr.
AW YISS PEASANT COMICS BY KATE BEATON
Du weißt, dass du Deutsch bist, wenn …
du in der neusten Ausgabe des Dudens nachsehen musst, wie die aktuelle...
Oh my goodness. What starts out as an amusing and scientifically inaccurate cartoon about dinosaurs from the 1960s ends on a bizarre and frankly...
Slovakia did not break European Union laws guaranteeing the free movement of people when it...
A workman mows the grass roof of a government building near the capital city of Tórshavn, on August 13, 2009. © Bob Strong/Reuters
