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Leonard Cohen in Europe
2008-03-19 12:39:00
(Because Of, from the "Dear Heather" album, PV by his daughter, Lorca)"Leonard Cohen announced his world tour, marking a return to the live arena after 15 years. He is scheduled to open in Toronto on June 6 and 7, the city that gave birth to his career as a recording and literary artist, and then play Europe in the remainder of June, July, August and early September." (in http://www.leonardcohen.com/)In Europe:14-Jun-08 Dublin IMMA15-Jun-08 Dublin IMMA17-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House18-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House19-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House20-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House29-Jun-08 Glastonbury Glastonbury Festival01-Jul-08 Oslo Aliset Stadium03-Jul-08 Helsingborg Open Air05-Jul-08 Copenhagen Rosenborg Castle06-Jul-08 Arhuus Raadhus Parken08-Jul-08 Montreux Montreux Jazz Festival09-Jul-08 Lyon Festival10-Jul-08 Bruges Cactus12-Jul-08 Amsterdam Westendam16-Jul-08 Edinburgh Castle17-Jul-08 London The 02 Arena19-Jul-08 Lisbon Passeio Maritimo19-Jul-08 Lisbon Passeio Maritimo de Al...
More About: Leonard Cohen

Diesel taxes in Europe
2008-03-17 12:32:00
"The Europe an Commission says the wide variation in rates of diesel (officially known as gas oil) taxes creates distortions in the road haulage market ? and also increases environmental damage by encouraging ?fuel tourism? by hauliers (i.e. making special journeys or using longer routes in order to fill up in a country with low taxes). Also, since diesel and petrol have similar impacts, especially from the point of view of CO2 emissions, there is no environmental reason for the two minimum rates to differ. The Commission is therefore proposing to raise the minimum rate on diesel up to the minimum rate on petrol.""Adopting by 447 votes in favour to 64 against with 39 abstentions a report based on a draft by Olle Schmidt (ALDE, SE), MEPs agreed with this in principle, but said the minimum taxes on diesel should rise more slowly, from the current level of ?302/1000 litres to the current petrol level of ?359/1000 litres by 2015 rather than 2012. Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and R...
More About: Taxes , Diesel

Pearly Dewdrops Drops: the Cocteau Twins
2008-03-14 22:15:00
I swear, I try to resist YouTube. But sometimes I just can't.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Twins

Think City, please (or else be Smart, or show your iQ)
2008-03-14 13:28:00
"TH!NK city demands very little of you. In fact, not much more than a mobile phone. Just an overnight power top-up, and it?s ready to go in the morning. It can travel up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) in city driving on a fully charged battery, with a top speed of 100km/h. It is fun, clean and simple." The Th!nk City will go on sale at the end of 2008. It will run for 200 km on one charge and hit 100 km/h. The price will be around 20 000 euros, plus a 200 euros monthly fee for the battery loan scheme (the company will own the batteries, replace them when needed, and even pay you electricity and insurance bills). It's not cheap. In a 5 years (60 months) scenario, it would cost 20 000 + (60 x 200) = 32 000 euros. Now let's say that we would drive 500 km per month, which I think it's more then enough in a city like Luxembourg. That's 6000 km per year, and 30 000 in our 5 years. How much would we spend with a Citroën C1? The cheapest 1.0 costs 8 750 euros, but you can easily buy it ...
More About: Show , Smart

The Flemish "Wooncode"
2008-03-13 18:06:00
The United Nations are afraid that the Flemish "Wooncode" may lead to racial discrimination: speaking or agreeing to learn Flemish has become a condition to access social housing in Flanders. I think it's the other way around, that it really promotes integration, but that's not the problem. The problem is that language is being used as a weapon against French-speaking Belgians, keeping them on their side of the fence in the area around Brussels. And this is the worst way you can use your mother-tongue. It becomes a vehicle of hate. Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

Mehdi Kazemi and Pegah Emambakhsh
2008-03-12 16:14:00
Mehdi Kazemi, a gay Iranian asylum seeker who the British government plans to send back to Iran on the grounds that if gay Iranians are "discreet about their sexuality", they will not get in trouble, tried to apply for asylum in The Netherlands. But his case cannot be judge there, and he is about to be send back to the UK, where another Iranian, a lesbian woman named Pegah Emambakhsh, was also detained and her asylum demand refused. If returned to Iran, they both face imprisonment and possibly stoning to death.They're both human, not just names on the news. Their deportation his going to be discussed in the European Parliament this week.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

City of Luxembourg: Plan d'aménagement général (PAG)
2008-03-12 13:45:00
Some personal (and humble) considerations about the PAG presented the 29th of February (you can find it here):- it's very positive to finally acknowledge that the saturation of the Hamilius-Gare axis is one of the major problems concerning public transportation in the city; the solution is, of course, to create other bus-train(-tram?) interfaces, namely in Kircheberg, Gasperich and Howald (East, South and West; the Northern entrance to the city poses a different problem, as the highway is still under construction);- it's good to know that, in a country where one of the most relevant yearly "cultural" activities is the Auto-Festival, someone is planning to reduce accessibilities for cars and promote public and soft transportation (at least it shows some nerve);- sadly, there are no plans for closing the highway ring around the city: if you're in Strassen and want to go to the airport, it's faster to drive through town, and this is not a good sign;- a second inner ring (with a spe...
More About: City , Plan , Luxembourg

We're saved: the Vatican has listed pollution has a new sin
2008-03-10 22:51:00
... and also genetic experimentation, drug abuse, abortion, paedophilia, excessive wealth and causing social injustice. Part of this we already knew (the "do as I say, not as I do" part). But... Recycle or go to Hell!?The Green Pope (further explanation here)Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Pollution , Vatican , The Vatican , Listed

Tata's Nano at Geneva Motor Show
2008-03-10 12:15:00
Let's be very politically incorrect: millions of Indians will get one very cute family car, and the world will get more pollution, more CO2 emissions, more demand for fossil fuels. And don't forget that when the catalytic converter fails and it's not replaced, emissions will increase fivefold.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Motor , Geneva , Show , Nano

MUPI in Luxembourg (like in "Martine in Luxembourg" or "Noddy in Luxembourg
2008-03-08 15:55:00
We already knew that Santa was living in Luxembourg . After the most recent anti-MUPI fairy tale reactions (small print: "although our main business is banking, we don't want your filthy capitalist advertising in our city"), I've just been informed that Snow White is also moving into town, and she's bringing the Dwarfs with her (not all of them, Grumpy is staying in Liechtenstein; and, by the way, Bambi is still happily living in Switzerland, where he relocated to after the fall of the Weimar Republic).(previous posts about the free bicycle system and the contract with JC Decaux here and here)Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

Tom Waits in Europe
2008-03-06 12:59:00
According to The Washington Independent, Tom Waits is going on tour this summer, not only across US but also in Europe , I hope...(I've recently found this rare 1979 clip for "The one that got away" directed by John Lamb - the whole story here)Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

Zidane and Materazzi - News get old
2008-03-05 15:29:00
"Las noticias envejecen. Consíguelas frescas."(News get old. Get them fresh.)For Milenio mexican news agency, by Olabuenaga Chemistri, México City.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Zidane

From Liechtenstein to Luxembourg
2008-03-05 12:36:00
After the recent tax evasion scandal concerning Liechtenstein , German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said that other loopholes should be addressed. Luxembourg , Belgium and Austria included."Asked whether Luxembourg was considered a tax-friendly state, Steinbrueck replied: "Not in the sense of a tax haven, but you know that it is hard to get certain information from Luxembourg. That also applies to Austria."In the second half of 2005 when the new rules came into force, Liechtenstein collected 2.55 million euros ($3.87 million) of tax on investments that come under the scope of the EU rules.This rose to 14.8 million euros for all of 2006, compared with Switzerland's collection of 101.62 million euros in first half 2005 and 341.24 million euros in 2006." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id =7354323)Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

The American primaries campaign - Ghostbusters video
2008-03-03 23:06:00
And a very stupid post: "Why are the letters 'NIG' on the child's pajamas?"Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Video , Campaign , American , Primaries , Ghostbusters

9/11 ASH ad
2008-03-02 22:53:00
Anti-smoking ad for ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) by DDB New Zealand. Too soon?Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

UP-Robots: the birth of useful personal robotics
2008-02-29 11:57:00
According to Forbes, robots are going to be the next tech bubble. There's nothing really new going around the net these days, just fights over taking control of the next big thing, which is probably going to be old after a couple of months. Facebook is already going down, with lesser new subscriptions every day.A bubble is something that, by definition, is supposed to burst, sooner or later. The trick is to ride it while it's still full (of air), and to put your money in it while it's still taking shape. Robots are going to happen, sooner or later. They are going to take over a lot more of tasks around our houses, our places of work, our cities, our fields, our factories, even in our nice little battlefields abroad...Of course this is already happening, what's new is that it's going to happen right before our noses. Technology is getting cheaper, and something is going to hit big time our supermarket shelves and start a new trend, simplifying something that we do everyday. It'...
More About: Personal , Robotics , Birth

Vel'oh!
2008-02-27 22:56:00
New site here: http://www.veloh.lu/.Véloh!Envoyé par weblessentiel dans Evènements sur wat.tv Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

A new comment about the Marcel Kalmann incident
2008-02-27 18:45:00
An update to my previous posts (here, here and here):"Anonymous said...Belgian newspaper De Standaard has an article about this story today, basically showing that the story is incorrect, and that the city of Bruges has complained to the newspaper Joods Actueel that launched the story for not checking its sources and publishing an incorrect story. Mr Kalmann is said to have gone to the press in Holland before with invented stories 27.2.08" You can read the De Standaard article here. Besides what's written in the above comment, it also says that the discussion concerned the price asked for one coffee (6.5 euros), and that Professor Kalmann is not an American citizen, nor a professor. After complaining to the police about a supposed anti-Semitic discrimination, he then demanded an English written certification of the complaint (at least that's what I read in my BabelFish translation...). Afterwards, he is said to have expressed himself in perfect Dutch. Back in 2001, Mr. Kalmann...
More About: Marcel , Comment , Incident

More problems with the bicycle contract in Luxembourg City
2008-02-26 15:20:00
The free bicycle system - and the contract with JC Decaux - is still fuelling the political debate in Luxembourg City . Some of the MUPIs (Mobilier Urban pour l'information) were removed, and it seems that others will follow, because their location was said to be dangerous for traffic visibility. A written approval from the Ministry of Culture is also missing, according to the opposition. "This fairy tale comes from people who have no clue about public tenders", says the City Council.The result of all this is obvious: the City will have to loose a lot of money to honor the contract with JC Decaux, and the opposition will have a very good argument for the coming election, although they don't seem to have any solutions or a positive attitude towards pollution or traffic increase (the bicycles are not to supposed to solve any traffic or pollution problems, they're just a very good way to start changing, to say "we care, we are aware of the problem, we are doing something"). This Frid...
More About: Contract , Problems , Bicycle

Sarkozy's video update
2008-02-25 15:59:00
The video was gone... Here it is again. (I guess Le Parisien is trying to get back all the traffic from YouTube)Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Video , Update , S Video

Nicolas Sarkozy: "Piss off, you prick"
2008-02-25 11:55:00
There is an interesting little discussion going on here over the best English translation of Sarkozy 's very polite words. It was not my intention to take part in it, but I have to admit that "fuck you" is not the best match for "casse-toi". It's closer to "sod off" or "piss off". About "pauvre con", I keep my original translation: "you prick". Very nice, any how.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Nicolas Sarkozy , Piss , Nicolas , Prick

Nicolas Sarkozy: Casse toi pauvre con!
2008-02-24 22:36:00
Nicolas Sarkozy , the Frech president, at the opening of the annual Salon de l'agriculture, in Paris, this Saturday: "Fuck you, you prick" (or any other possible translation). The guy was refusing to shake his hand. (check the update: Piss off, you prick)"The right way to make mayonnaise, cheese soufflé and foie gras is to receive protection from the United Nations if the latest ploy from President Sarkozy wins approval from the international body. Mr Sarkozy announced that he wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. " (TimesOnline)"France is back in Europe," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy following the adoption of a law that allows him to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. Be afraid. Be very afraid.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Nicolas

Swapping Kosovo for a pair of sneakers
2008-02-24 13:39:00
A video of two young women looting during the riots in Belgrade has become a hit on YouTube."A persistent amateur cameraman followed the women as they loaded up with chocolates at a corner shop, came out giggling, then went after designer bags, shoes and clothes at Belgrade's swankiest stores in its vandalized main shopping street." (in reuters.com)Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Sneakers , Kosovo , Pair

Vlaams Belang: simple actions for simple minds
2008-02-22 12:59:00
Following a judiciary leak, the independentist flemish party Vlaams Belang has created an internet site with a top-20 recidivist criminals list, stressing the fact that most of them are youngsters of foreign origin. That's a fact, not a hidden secret. And that's a problem. Albert Einstein once said that "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it". Simple minds are dangerous.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Minds

The new bus lane in route d'Esch
2008-02-22 12:52:00
Some facts about the new most discussed bus lane in route d'Esch:1. When you have two lanes of traffic and you decide that one of them is going to be used only by buses (and by bicycles, it seems), you can not expect that all the drivers that were previously using that lane will leave their car at home and jump into the next bus. You can expect bigger traffic jams in the only lane now open for private cars.2. We have a diesel pollution problem (in Luxembourg, high levels of nitrogen dioxide, in Brussels, fine particles: that's the geography of money - new diesel cars with particle filters here, old diesel cars without particle filters in Belgium - both very polluting and bad for your lungs, although "environmental-friendly" and government-supported because of the lower levels of CO2).3. When you have a pollution problem, you can not expected the average citizen to decide on his own to park his new flashy just-bought-in-the-AutoFestival-diesel-bu rning bagnole and take the bus or th...
More About: Lane , Route

More news on the Marcel Kalmann incident
2008-02-21 12:51:00
From Deborah Lipstadt?s Blog:"dan said...Deborah,I am trying to find Professor K. He is known as Marc Kalmann in Sharpsburg, Georgia, his name is listed in phone books online as Marc not Marcel , but I assume his given name is Marcel. I cannot find what he is a professor of and where he was a professor, since at 64 he is prob retired now. I do want to contact him just to get his side of the story, in a gentle way. Maybe he was not the one who made the story so big, maybe the reporter or editor at Jewish Currents made the story bigger by qyoting the prof out of context and writing the headline they he did. But that story sure had legs on the Internet, with many headlines such as "Man kicked out of Belgian cafe for being Jewish" and "Professor kicked out of cafe for wearing yarmulke" and things like that. Which was NOT the case. He was kicked out for causing a scene, but it does seem one of the waiters targeted the kippa after the argument was dying down and the professor remembered th...
More About: News , Incident

Metro subway in Luxembourg
2008-02-19 13:26:00
The ADR (Alternative Democratic Reform Party*) thinks that the best solution for the future of public transportation in Luxembourg would be a metro, not the tramway. The building of a subway tunnel in only three years in Leipzig is cited has an example. Leipzig has 500 000 habitants, five times more than Luxembourg (surrounding comunes included). The city tunnel was built to complete the suburban train system, and it's not a metropolitan subway. A similar project in Luxembourg would mean extending the train lines from the Gare up to Kirchberg, with an additional central station in the Centre-Ville. By the way, Leipzig's suburban tunnel is a seven years project, with the following anounced benefits: "More than 320,000 car km per day will be avoided. This will considerably increase the City?s share in short-distance public transport. Shorter travelling time between medium level centres and the city centre of Leipzig. Better connection and development of the airport, New Fair Ground,...
More About: Metro , Subway

The Marcel Kalmann incident: updated news
2008-02-18 12:51:00
I've received new comments about the Marcel Kalmann incident in Bruges. It's only fair to publish them. Check them out in the above link.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: News , Incident

The Battle of Kosovo
2008-02-17 17:22:00
The Battle of Gazimestan or Amselfeld was fought in 1389, Northwest from Pri?tina, between the Serbs and the Ottoman Empire. A memorial marks the site of Serbia?s greatest national shrine, Kosovo Polje, the Field of Blackbirds. The battle is celebrated on St Vitus' Day, June 28. Four months from now.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.

A picture of Che Guevara hangs in Barack Obama?s Houston office
2008-02-14 23:38:00
Someone has hung a Cuban flag with a picture of Che Guevara on it in Obama ?s Houston campaign office. America (and the blogosphere) is going crazy about it.Blogging in Luxembourg. In engrish.
More About: Office , Barack Obama , Picture , Barack