Lisbon // Current TV

Woman Buys An Apartment And Finds Previous Owner's Long-Dead Corpse In The Kitchen

Upon entering her new apartment in Lisbon, a woman discovered the former tenant's... more

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Dissent in 2.0, the internet versus Václav Klaus

This post is a tag team operation organized by Andrew Fitzgerald of Current_News. I found funny pictures on behalf of Current_Comedy.
The Czech President, Václav Klaus, has been doing his best to hold up the EU’s Lisbon Treaty for a while now, but today he finally ratified it. He’s famously skeptical of the EU, but plenty of people put plenty of pressure on him. Lisbon aims to further unify the EU – giving Europe a President and a “foreign representative” for example. Václav Klaus, notably, is not Václav Havel – the only other post-Soviet Czech President who confusingly also happens to have the first name “Václav.” Havel, a rock star on the diplomatic circuit, is much more liberal – Klaus is considered much more conservative. -AF
The current state of the internet, makes finding subcultures easy. Quick Facebook searches, yield groups of dissenters. Flickr finds photos of objectors. Then Google Translate roughly deciphers the Czech. Flickr user donatien snapped this anti-Václav Klaus graffiti. It's translated as "all suffer Klaus-trophobia." Ideozlocin.cz is an affiliate of contemporary anarchists CrimethInc Ex-Workers' Collective Another photographer tmkelly, caught this sitcker produced by nemluvizame.cz or "Doesn't speak for me."

This anti-Klaus rhetoric is reminiscent of domestic anti-Bush sentiment. The phrase "not my president" is being used by dissenters on Facebook. Václav Klaus is not my president! has nearly 1,700 members (it's rival group has only 1,200 members.) These are some photoshopp'd images I found on anti-Václav Klaus Facebook groups. "Balbinova Provisional National Library: V. Klaus philosophy, Václav Klaus Writings, V. Klaus travel, V. Klaus law and state, V. Klaus dissident, V. Klaus ecology, other unattractive literature." I think this implies that his bookshelf is empty, and that the leader might be intellectually vapid. To further convey that Klaus is a "blbec" (is an idiot/jerk) someone presented this picture: "Klaus signed the Treaty of Lisbon." The joke implies the president's signature is too daft to know where to affix his signature. Klaus isn't sold on Global Warming, as inferred by this satirical photograph:
"Global warming? Nonsense, I just sweat at tennis!"
Others comment on the president's devout Catholicism, and the hypocrisy of his egotism. "Nation wearing: father son holy spirit" Organizers of a protest cast Klaus as a Black Sheep.

A few months ago I discovered the Spanish Prime Minister's Goth Daughter international meme. Today I didn't find a meme, I just found humorous dissent against the president of the Czech Republic.This post is a tag team operation organized by Andrew Fitzgerald of Current_News. I... more

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mariana van zeller's top 14: favorite stories - [current tv hosts]

Here's another Current TV host top favorite stories countdown. This time around... more

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The EU finally gets Lisbon; Thanks Vaclav Klaus

Josh Heller at Current_Comedy and I are conducting a joint investigation into Czech President Vaclav Klaus. This is what I wrote for him post: "Dissent in 2.0, the internet versus Václav Klaus"
The Czech President, Václav Klaus, has been doing his best to hold up the EU’s Lisbon Treaty for a while now, but today he finally ratified it. He’s famously skeptical of the EU, but plenty of people put plenty of pressure on him. Lisbon aims to further unify the EU – giving Europe a President and a “foreign representative” for example. Václav Klaus, notably, is not Václav Havel – the only other post-Soviet Czech President who confusingly also happens to have the first name “Václav.” Havel, a rock star on the diplomatic circuit, is much more liberal – Klaus is considered much more conservative. -AF
Josh goes looking for an anti-Klaus meme, but instead just finds humorous dissent (yes, that's the Czech President on toilet paper). But what about Klaus the politician? Foreign Policy's Passport blog describes him as a "legendary euroskeptic" and points to their article "The Other Vaclav":
Although mostly known outside his country for his skeptical views on global warming (environmentalism, in his opinion, is "the most prominent antiliberal, populist ideology of the contemporary world, comparable to communism and Nazism.) Klaus is one of the most important figures in post-communist Czech history, and the Lisbon battle is just the latest in a long series of controversial stances in his career. But lately, this lifelong iconoclast appears more and more as a tragic political figure. He is now totally isolated in Europe, shunned by most EU politicians, who view his obstructions as proof of his, and his country's, lack of democratic credentials.
Both Vaclavs, Klaus and Havel were there when the Soviet system collapsed. And both of them quickly made the transition into the new fledgling government. Havel, the poet-President, however, left the game. Which left the Czech Republic in the hands of Klaus, who served as Czech Prime Minister during his rule, and had long been Havel's rival. The NY Review of Books has a great short piece on "Vaclav vs Vaclav":
The two Václavs, it can be said, represent two poles of the broad Czech democratic center. Havel, the more liberal, believed that a new political culture should emerge from a rich and diverse civic society, with a healthy degree of decentralization and strong regional governments. As president he argued for policies that supported the nonprofit sector and mitigated the worst effects of rapid privatization. Klaus, an economist and admirer of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and Margaret Thatcher, was a market fundamentalist who believed in a strong central government in the hands of strong political parties. The political friction between the two men was exacerbated by a clash of personalities. Beneath their quite different exteriors—Klaus abrasive to the point of arrogance, Havel polite to the point of shyness—each man had a firm will that made their differences seem inevitable and irresolvable.
So now the EU has finally gotten its Lisbon treaty, and Klaus seems to have used it to upstage his former rival's global presence. But still no meme for Vaclav Klaus. (If only he had a different first name!) Recently on the Current News Blog: - Election Perspective: New York and New Jersey by ScorpioGee - Hamas has a new rocket? - USS New York arrives in New York (Video) - Tomorrow is election day - Clinton's 11 foot statue in KosovoJosh Heller at Current_Comedy and I are conducting a joint investigation into Czech... more

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7 stories you missed this week: Vaclav Klaus, Google Books, Silvio Berlusconi, Alan Grayson and more

It seemed like a slow news week and then all of sudden NASA blew up the moon and Obama won a Nobel and, well, News! So here are some other things that slipped under the news radar.

Vaclav Klaus is the President of the Czech Republic, and after Ireland voted to accept the EU's Lisbon Treaty (in effect a constitution for Europe) his signature is the last thing Europe needs for Lisbon to become a reality. Well, he just pushed it off again this week. Read more at FP Passport: Klaus adds another hurdle

Google doesn't want you to freak out about Google Books. They just settled a big lawsuit with publishing industry groups and co-founder Sergey Brin wants to be clear with the public that the technology will not completely devalue books for the authors and publishers. Read Brin's op-ed at the NY Times: A Library to Last Forever

The health care debate continues! Oh you didn't hear about it? There may well be a Senate vote next week, but this week the Congressional Budget Office said the Baucus plan could actually cut the deficit. Read more from the AP: CBO: Health Bill costs $829 billion over decade

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who faces at least one charge of corruption, lost his immunity to prosecution while in office. He said he felt 'invigorated' and vowed to fight. Read more from the BBC: Defiant Berlusconi vows to fight

A new game in the UK called Internet Eyes is turning Britain's thousands of CCTV cameras into a game for profit. Spot a crime - win up to 1000 pounds! More from FP Passport: New internet game offers cash prizes for spotting crime

Oh, and, lots of other people won Nobel Prizes this week. See the list at: nobelprize.org

Finally, this video has been making the rounds today. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) stood on the floor of the House and took a shot at the GOP, telling them that Americans don't care about their feelings (they care about health care!). Whether you agree with him or not, it's a refreshingly sincere voice in the politics of late. Crooks and Liars has the video: Rep. Alan Grayson: I Will Not Apologize- America Doesn't Care About Your Feelings

Any other stories you think we missed? Submit them at Current News and let us know!

Some of our other stories from the week:
- Prescription drug abuse in South Florida
- Did the US capture an Iranian nuclear scientist? – Reasons to think they did
- Love in Gaza: A Palestinian couple marries against all odds
- Death Penalty in the US: Ohio halts executions
- Oktoberfest in Palestine – Taybeh Brewery (Video)It seemed like a slow news week and then all of sudden NASA blew up the moon and Obama... more

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STEALING FROM THE RICH

Stealing from the Rich by Above play the video to see what its all about.

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"Na Ri Na"

Cape Verdean singer Lura was raised in Lisbon's émigré community... more

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Two dead in Europe fuel protests

Two lorry drivers have been killed in fuel protests in Spain and Portugal as the... more

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The 53 Places to Go in 2008

The New York times provides it's list of the hot destinations, must sees, and... more

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Ode to a Toothpaste

Mariana van Zeller reports on the changes globalization has brought to her hometown of... more

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le cool magazine

Weekly mailer of what's hot and happening in Barcelona, Madrid, Lisboa,... more

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Woman Buys An Apartment And Finds Previous Owner's Long-Dead Corpse In The Kitchen

Dissent in 2.0, the internet versus Václav Klaus

mariana van zeller's top 14: favorite stories - [current tv hosts]

The EU finally gets Lisbon; Thanks Vaclav Klaus

7 stories you missed this week: Vaclav Klaus, Google Books, Silvio Berlusconi, Alan Grayson and more

STEALING FROM THE RICH

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