Friday Round Up - 3/8

I have been all atwitter on twitter this week!  Lots of stuff going on in Europe these days, particularly the southeasterly neighbors in the Balkans.  Europeans be trippin', as they say.  There were so many happenings that this post is all news and very little play.  Scroll through my twitter for some of the fun diversions I found!

Topical Tuesday: NPD aka Neo-nazis

I had found this data visualization from Der Spiegel on one of my favorite blogs, Global Sociology.  There isn't much explanation on the article about the rise of NPD's popularity, particularly in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  There is actually a pretty simple explanation of the phenomenon and it goes like this: NPD is the successor of the overly-familiar Nazi party of yore and has the same legacy of xenophobia and extremist nationalism.  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the most economically depressed region of Germany and I have often heard Germans remark on the rural character and insularity of that region; some have said that it was like it's own land that they can't understand.  When people are economically depressed, they turn to more extreme politics (like in 1920s Germany? 2010s Greece? Anyone?).  It's surprisingly a pretty straightforward connection and though it sounds overly simplistic, it's the truth. People are angry they don't have economic security and they turn to the "other" to scapegoat and place blame on economic forces that do not have a face.  It's not satisfying to blame an immaterial thing, like fate or the global market at large.

Belarusian Insight

The Independent published a rare interview with Lukashenko.  It's an intriguing read about a man that controls the last Soviet dictatorship.  A great Tuesday read.

Food for EU Thought

There has been a lot of austerity and general socio-political woes in Europe for the past year.  Economics and finances have been breaking the EU apart at the ideological seams.  As soon as someone messes up and the chips are down, it's no longer "Europe" but Greece, Germany, Spain, France, etc.  Understandable and human, but also not what the EU project is about.  So it's no wonder that Erasmus is getting the short shrift.  Times are tough and it's hard to keep lofty ideals floating with cash when that's hard to come by. 

Euroskepticism - The Debate Continues

I had a great time reading Sikorski's scathing speech on Britain's prevailing euroskepticism.  As the EU moves towards solidarity and strong controls across all member states, the Brits have shuttered themselves out of EU decisions since the infamous veto on reforming EU treaties back in December (though Cameron wielded a veto threat for about two to three months).  That one decision sidelined Britain in a way I'm not sure anyone truly anticipated and Sikorski is essentially saying, "If you think you're better off without us, I hope you thought about how it will affect your international relations, trade, and current government.  Leaving means you have less clout, weaker trade ties, and the same government but without the EU to blame."

Martin Schultz on the EU

I'm just going to let these articles speak for themselves.  It's a great follow-up to the EU post from earlier and definitely will stay a hot topic as things heat up and break down in Europe.  Martin Schultz, president of the European Parliament, would naturally be for strengthening that branch of legislature, but I am inclined to think he has really solid opinions given that national interests trump in the two other branches.  I embrace the idea of a European-wide election with no national elections because it's a concession that clearly puts nation first, continent second.  They can have all the EuroVision contests and ERASMUS programs they want, but when it comes down to it, no one is pushing for the real European integration that was originally envisioned.

A Few Good Things

I am up and running after a month of wedding related insanity.  To top it all off, I am being pushed to a new job.  It's a tiring time, but I have a few fun bits to share.


German Acceptance?
I am a follower of the Chicago Goethe Institut since I spent lots of money continuing my German there, and they posted this article.  I have mentioned my total love of all ethnic things (a reason why anthropology jived so well with me) and it delights me to no end to see Europeans embracing diversity without being threatened.  Europeans are facing a lot of existential crises right now, at least on a political level, and the idea of embracing a cross-cultural understanding is a big one.  Europe's general stance has been one-sided adoption and fretted about "integration", which was a PC code word for "assimilation".  This ethnic-loving American is thrilled to pieces, even with such a small gesture.


Hungarian Tradition - Redesigned Beautifully

I originally came across this on Design*Sponge, but it also had an appearance on Design East, which I referenced during my Design Week.  This is from the design shop Dombon a tanya and it is a fresh take on Komatál (Platter or Friendship).  I read up a little bit on komatál here and it's such a cute tradition!  I'd love to pass it along even though I have no Hungarian lineage.  This would be such a cute housewarming or dinner party gift.  When you give it, you can tell people the culture behind it and sound really sophisticated as well.  Win!

from designeast.eu

Hungary, Again?!
Never a dull moment with Orbán at the helm.  Looks like the EU has "bullied" Magyarország enough for its own purposes.  Is he really surprised at the EU's tough stance in the midst of the Greek crisis?  C'mon.  We all knew it was going to play tough guy, especially when it comes to democratic issues.  I continue to be interested in what it will to take to push Hungarians to the point of revolution.  It almost seems like they learned from their failed revolutions, but learned the wrong lesson.  It's still worth fighting for what's good and right, even if it fails.  History will prove you a hero.


Tune in for more updates in the near future!  Maybe even an op ed.  Ooooh...

Euro crisis: what of it?

My hiatus on this blog coincided pretty closely with the time when the euro started falling apart.  That was not planned.  But now that work has slowed down, it's given me some time to do otherwise productive activities--this blog.  I've missed it so.  I wanted to address the euro crisis, but only on a broad basis.  I do not understand a penny's worth about macro/microeconomics and though I get the general idea, I do not think myself so clever that I actually believe I know what I'm talking about.  So let's join together as I talk out of my butt (no, I joke, I won't be talking so much about economics).

The Future of Europe

via

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending The Chicago Council on Global Affair's program entitled, "The Future of Europe".  This was in cooperation with the Transatlantic Academy, with Executive Director Stephen F. Szabo moderating the panel.  Steffen Kern and Hanns W. Maull were the featured panelists, the former an economist and the latter a foreign policy and international relations specialist.  I was notified of the event by a family member and after attending the 75 minute panel discussion, I was sufficiently impressed with the content.  I look forward to next year's programs from the CCGA, especially if they include European topics.  I would definitely like to become a member once I earn a slightly higher pay grade.