Does anyone happen to know offhand the “official” dollar rate of the Ukrainian currency, the Hryvnia? I am asking this question since clearly over at the central bank they are having difficulty deciding at the moment, since - like the legendary character Hydra - they seem to be speaking with two “heads” at the same [...]

The associative mind works in mysterious ways. At least, mine does. The New York Times has an amazing article today called Bacteria Thrive in Inner Elbow; No Harm Done about, as the title suggests, the countless bacteria that live in and on our bodies. It turns out humans are really individual ’superorganisms’. What caught my [...]

The mostly pro-European Democratic Party (DS) did surprisingly well — possibly because of a surprising last-minute from Brussels to give Serbia a “Stabilization and Association Agreement”. This was fairly blatant intervention on Brussels’ part, but it seems to have worked — at least in terms of getting more votes for DS.
Prime Minister Kostunica’s increasingly [...]

When a long running conflict is finally brought to “closure”, is the deal only an arrangement between elites on each side?  The question is prompted by the Northern Ireland peace process, where great progress in reducing violence and devolving powers has not been matched by more harmonious relations at the community level.  And apparent puzzlement [...]

Here’s an interesting analysis of the political situation in Serbia from the FT’s Quentin Peel.  This is in the context of what had looked like a good result for the Boris Tadic (president) alliance with their 38% vote share — but with a rival alliance of Radicals, Socialists (former Milosevic) and a group linked to [...]

I’ve been meaning to write about the Serbian elections, and the continuing slapfest over Macedonia, and some more about the frozen conflicts, and all that good stuff. But first:
Niko Bellic is Serbian.
He’s not just a generic Eastern European; he’s a Bosnian Serb who fought in the war as a teenager. The [...]

In The Netherlands cartoon artist Gregorius Nekschot has been arrested following complaints by imam Abdul-Jabbar van de Ven that his work discriminates against, notably, Muslims and dark-skinned people. I really do not have the time right now to write a decent post about this and I am also waiting for more information, but Dutch weblog [...]

It’s not clear that there’s much useful to be blogged about from a distance on the catastrophes in China and Burma.   But one difference from the past is that the population scale of Asia relative to the rest of the world is now matched by its economic influence.  In past decades, 6 figure death tolls [...]

In the latest twist in the long-running saga of the increasingly Francophone areas near Brussels but in Flanders, a Council of Europe delegation visited three towns where the election of Francophone mayors has not been endorsed by the regional Flemish government.  The delegation sounded pessimistic and floated the possibility that the case could be subject [...]

Do not bring your boyfriend to this exhibition. This is not an exhibition for couples. And, if you are male, don’t bring your girlfriend. In fact, maybe don’t come at all.
There are a few couples here to see Sophie Calle’s multimedia project set in the beautiful 19th Salle Labrouste domed reading room of the Bibliotheque [...]