East European Digest

Europe East & West

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:30:07 +0100

Europe East and West

Norman Davies

Currently reading this book, will post a review shortly.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

New Europe - 2nd Episode - Oil Wrestling

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:05:19 +0100

Turkey boy

This week (Sunday) sees Michael Palin visit Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey. The preview video show's that most interesting of sports, oil wrestling. Click on the following link to visit the BBC New Europe homepage. to see the video and also to see where else Michael Palin is to visit in the series.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Hungarian Google Zeigeist for August

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:50:33 +0100

euro banknotes, fifty

Given the state of the money markets at the moment it's no wonder the Ministry of Finance topped the August figures for Google, with the K & H Bank at number 14. However, it's great to see that soaps, celebrities and sports stars are all still represented. To take a look at the August Zeitgeist for Hungary follow the following link.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

BBC - Michael Palin's New Europe

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:10:34 +0100

BBC - Michael Palin's New Europe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/palin/

Michael Palin explores 20 countries that were once off-limits behind the Iron Curtain. A series that I am really looking forward to.

New Europe

Michael Palin

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Immigration - More Are Wanting to Stay

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:15:02 +0100

UK passport front cover

An interesting article appeared in the Metro today, (Tuesday May 29th 2007), regarding how more immigrants from Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Bulgaria are wanting to stay here in the United Kingdom. According to the article out of 333 participants at the beginning of 2004 only 6% wanted to stay for more than an 18 month period, however, by the end of the year this had risen to 29%. In addition, more women than men wanted to stayhere in the United Kingdom.

What about the social outlook of the immigrants?

Regional Map of Europe

According to the Metro only 33 % knew how to register with a doctor and 54% had received information about their conditional immigration. Housing also appears to be an issue with 44% of those questioned were living in one room with somebody else other than their partner.

What are these migrants doing vocationally?

According to the Metro, in a different article, the agriculture sector in the UK is suffering, with the strawberry crop not being pick and therefore is being left to rot in the field. So where are the immigrants going to work? In my hometown of Wakefield the signs are there, for example, that Poles are starting to open their own shops, like Deli Polski. The success of the Polish immigrants is not going unoticed at home neither, as is show in this story which was carried in the Warsaw Voice.

I'd love to hear your comments on these facts figures and developments....

For more information on research carried out by the Jospeh Rowntree Foundation visit the website at http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/0226.asp

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Tinky Winky Doesn't go down well in Poland

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:43:26 +0100

Artificial landscape

Today was a very good day for stories regarding Eastern Europe and East Europeans living in the United Kingdom. The first of the few stories that I came across was in the Metro and related to how in Poland they are putting The Teletubbies in front of the Psycholgists, all because Tinky Winky carries a purse... People in the UK and the United States have probably thought that Tinky Winky had gay connotations for many years.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Dinar Bills used for Marketing Campaign

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Sun, 20 May 2007 12:19:24 +0100

posting letter to red british postbox

At work we occassionally get magazine's from the Royail Mail, regarding marketing. I came across a story where the business magazine Ekonomist used a very interesting campaign where they used a 500,000,000,000 Dinar bill, which was to represent hyper-inflation, the text in the campaign read 'In1993 this bank note was worth $1'!. When the bank note was removed from the magazine there was a further message underneath which read ' though the bank note is no longer valid currency, it has appreciated in value as a collectible item....Profit is a state of mind'

Dollars and Dinar

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Szoborpark - Budapest

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Sat, 12 May 2007 10:50:04 +0100

Budapest - Statue Park

Although it has been a while since I made it out to Szoborpark. I do love the Communist Period statues. However, not what they represent....

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Zeitgeist For Hungary in March

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:46:57 +0100

Hungary flag (with clipping path)

It seems that Hungarian's are fascinated by flash games in the month of March, according to the Google Zeitgeist, coming in at number one. Meanwhile, at number two comes my favourite European clothing chain, Mexx. Don't you think these are a strange set of results for web browsing/search?. Your thoughts? See more Zeitgeist results here

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

New referendum on citizenship for ethnic Hungarians?

nobody@vox.com(East European Digest) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:27:20 +0000

The story is currently been carried on the Budapest Sun Online website. "Miklós Patrubány, President of the World Federation of Hungarians (MVSz), has called for Hungary's voters to be given another referendum on whether citizenship should be granted to ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries."

http://www.budapestsun.com/cikk.php?id=26069

Not really sure about this one. If somebody is that intrested, whether it be that they are ethnically from that countries background or even economically intrested in being a citizen of another then maybe they could move there? However, in today's World the movement of populations highlight that this is not so straight forward and that maybe dual nationality is the way forward in the short term. Maybe to some degree this is why the original referendum failed. Your thoughts.....

Read and post comments | Send to a friend