Romania’s PM Tariceanu announced yesterday that he wants to withdraw Romania’s troops from Iraq.
Right now here are about 900 Romanian soldiers there — one full battalion, with the catchy name of “The Red Scorpions”. They’re deployed in the Al-Nasyria area. They don’t do combat operations. There’s an intelligence team and some de-miners. [...]

Guilty verdict.
Denmark - Jyllands-Posten

Honour killing trial in Denmark

The newspaper comments on the sentence passed by a court in Denmark in the trial of a so-called “honour killing”. This is the first time in the history of northern Europe that an entire family has been found guilty. The jury considered it proven that the father had [...]

Yesterday’s teaser for one of our local tabloids sent a chill, particularly on a bright and sunny day–
WM-Durst

Bier wird knapp!
Which is to say
World Cup Thirst

Beer shortages coming!
Let’s hope not…

Henry Farrell has a good piece up at Crooked Timber on the issues involved in the SWIFT data disclosure controversy. His case is that SWIFT did not, in fact do due diligence under Belgian law when it decided to give its records to the CIA. There is a precedent concerning US efforts to [...]

Observed, with thoughts on imams’ roles in European societies, at The Reality-Based Community.
The view is to die for: over the valley to the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada behind. The idea of the mosque, more a spiritual caravanserai and place for refreshment than an arena for strenuous communal effort like a synagogue or a church, [...]

Soccer cliches in general, actually, but edifying on this off day.
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One famous cliché [...]

Interesting. Original, in Estonian.
For months now, a dispute about the demolition of a bronze statue from the Soviet era has been raging in Tallinn. Krista Kodres takes up the cudgel for the communist regime’s cultural legacy. “Just imagine if people had pulled down the palaces of the hated Bourbons after the French Revolution, or if [...]

News from Berlin these days tends to come from the enormous parties in front of the Brandenburger Tor or in the Tiergarten. But spare a thought for a moment from whether Ghana will beat the eminently beatable Brazilian team and glance over to the Reichstag building, home of Germany’s parliament.
Today, more or less as I [...]

Can the Italians win a game without a significant boost from the referees?

“Berlin! Berlin! We’re going to Berlin!”
That was the big chant among the crowds at the three or four different venues where I watched parts of Germany’s victory over Sweden today. And, you know, they might well be.
Downtown Munich is one big party zone right now. I’ll be back, er, later.
(Sorry, David.)