A Little Iconoclasm Anyone?

Actually, the theme is "Famous Infamy" No intro today. I think the items more or less speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Segment 1 - Beckett Centenniel
Remembrances and performances of his work are under way. In addition to plays such as Godot, Krapp’s Last Tape and Endgame, Beckett wrote novels, essays and poetry, as well.
This is the "homepage" of a man who probably would have despised the Internet.
My favorite play by him is Endgame.

Segment 2 - Popetown
The action in the animated series Popetown all takes place at the Vatican. And, as the name suggests, it doesn’t exactly paint the Catholic Church in the most positive light. Ben Fajzullin has more.
Even their website is a bit upsetting...and funny.

Segment 3 - Crown Witnesses to Fight the Dutch Mafia
The Dutch parliament has devised laws aimed at ensuring the proper use of crown witnesses... But as Perro de Jong reports, the debate will continue.
Link to a report by one our Radio Netherlands Dutch affairs correspondents.

Segment 4 - Star for a Day in Paris
Ever wondered what it feels like to be a star? Well now you no longer have to do anything special to get the taste of fame. In France, you can now BUY celebrity for a night. John Laurenson reports from Paris…

Click here to download the program as a high quality mp3

Here on Earth Update

Despite massive problems with Skype, I think the program went very well. A lot of good callers and excellent second guest: Marc Chavannes, journalist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, former Washington correspondent.
Click here to listen to the program in Real format.

Was this discussion useful/interesting/a dreadful bore from an awful blowhard? You can leave your comments below.

Groubert on Here on Earth - Wisconsin Public Radio

I will be the featured guest on Wisconsin Public Radio's global call-in show "Here On Earth" this Sunday, 28 March at 2100 PM in Europe, 1900 UTC or 1400 (2PM) CST in the US. Host Jean Feraca and I will be discussing Islam, immigration, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Other guest TBA. You can listen to the programme live via the web. You can also call in and participate. From outside the US, e-mail HereOnEarth@wpr.org. Include your phone number: they'll call you back, or call them at +1 608 263 1890. From inside the USA call 1-800-642-1234.

Old and New Culture

You can't make this stuff up. Well, actually you can. Before it became a reality, I recall reading about Chessboxing in the Franco/Bosnian comics created by the futurist and social comentator Enki Bilal. Now it is a reality. See segment 5 or download the show.

Segment 1 - France & Germany Plan Own Google
..and its called Quearo. This is give Europe and European language a higher percentage ranking, but also, as Frank Browning reports from Paris, to change the way you look at that information.
Rather bizarrely, Quaero is not yet online. Enjoy this wiki instead.

Segment 2 - Sweden Returns Totem Pole
Sweden is returning a stolen totem pole it stole a century ago from the Haisla First Nation tribe from British Columbia. Radio Swedens Dave Russell reports.
The official Canadian government's take on the pole's return.
Also, the site of the Haisla First Nation itself.

Segment 3 - Dutch Nautical School Teaches Real Sailing
The Enkuizen Nautical School in North Holland is the one and only place in Europe where you can learn to sail the old way. Our Michel Walraven learned all about it from school director Henk Wever.

Segment 4 - Bucharest Gone to the Dogs
Romanias capital is thought to be home to around 300,000 strays. At the beginning of 2006, stray dogs were again omnipresent on the streets of the Romanian capital. Until someone got bitten, really badly. Iulian Muresan has more.

Segment 5 - Chessboxing!
The only sport where taking a rook leads to a right hook. Kyle James reports from Berlin.
It's for real and you can view video featuring it, right here.

Click here to download the program as a high quality mp3.

Integration Frustration

Oh boy. They may even deport her!

Acrimony, lies and opportunism surrounding Ayaan Hirsi Ali's exit from the Dutch parliament and, very likely, the country. See the piece entitled "The Rise and Fall of Ayaan Hirsi Ali".

Segment 1 - Holland’s Integration Exam
Jonathan Groubert looks at something that’s attracted a lot of attention worldwide: the Dutch integration exam. The integration exam is a test that most non-westerners planning to move to Holland must take before coming to live here.
Learn all about it, in English, at the web site of the Dutch Immigiration and Naturalization Service (IND)
Segment 2 - The Rise and Fall of Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A former refugee from Somalia, Ayaan Hirsi Ali made a name for herself with her outspoken criticism of Islam, even becoming an MP in the Dutch parliament. Now it turns out her entire life story is a lie. Jonathan Groubert investigates.
Click here for a detailed Radio Netherlands article on Ayaan Hirsi (what was her last name again)

Segment 3 - A Dutch Exploration of Female Muslim Sexuality
Fiona Campbell interviews Dutch journalist and documentary maker Ingeborg Beugel who has made a six part documentary on the sex lives of young Dutch Muslims.
Fiona wrote an article on the subject with links to Ingeborg Beugel's programs. They are, of course, in Dutch.

Segment 4 - Retraining Prostitutes to Be Nurses
The German Evangelical Church wants to help women who want to get out of prostitution, to turn some of their talents to Germany’s fast-growing population of old people. John Laurenson has more in Dortmund…

Click here to download the program in mp3 format....

The Price of Oil Is Rather High!

Just this morning I paid 1 Euro and 47 Cents for a liter of gasoline. That's 5 Dollars and 97 Cents a gallon for you American folks. Seems like a lot of money, right? Well get used to it because it's unlikely to get better any time soon. Why? That's what this week's EuroQuest is all about.


Segment 1 - Yet Another Environmental Doomsayer
A discussion about the negative impact of climate change with Keimpe Wieringa, head of the Department of Air Quality and European Sustainability at Holland's National Institute of Public Heath.
Laura Durnford wrote a story with links to the report here...

Segment 2 - Turkey Wants Nukes
Turkey’s Black Sea coast was one of the areas hardest hit by fallout from the Chernobyl disaster. And yet, it is also the site chosen for a potential new Turkish nuclear reactor. Dorian Jones has more...
There are a wealth of stories about Turkey's new reactors. So here's one agency that is for
and one that is against.

Segment 3 - Swedish Rock Energy
For years the Swedes have exploited the natural heat found in the bedrock to heat their houses. And now producers of this technology say they’re ready to take on the rest of Europe. Lars Bevanger reports from the town of Arvika, in the south of Sweden.

Segment 4 - Little German Town of Energy Rebels
Germany doesn’t really have a reputation as a sun drenched land, but that hasn’t stopped one Black Forest village from making the most of it, energy wise. In fact, as John Laurenson reports, the people of Schonau might even be called energy rebels.
Here is a link from the city itself on how they make energy. However is all in German.

Click here for a high quality download of this program in mp3 format

Fat and Cigarettes!

At left, Regina Mac Nack feeding the (newly) poor at the Amsterdam Food Bank.

We're starving! We're obese! We're killing ourselves with ciggies. We're overlegislating! We're not taking the issue seriously! Well, whatever your perception, there's plenty to debate about the relative value or danger of what goes, or doesn't go, into our mouths.

Segment 1 - Scotland’s Child Obesity Epidemic
A recent study found that 1 third of twelve year olds in Scotland are overweight. More than 1 in 5 are clinically obese. Radio Prague’s Ian Willoughby reports from Glasgow.
Worrying Health Statistics from the Scottish Government

Segment 2 - Dutch Lunch Police Tackle Child Obesity
At the Valkenhorst Primary School in the Dutch city of Assen, the staff will open your lunchbox to see if you or parents managed to sneak in anything they consider to be unhealthy. Nikki Brown went on a stakeout with the lunch police.

Segment 3 - Amsterdam Food Bank Combats Poverty
Several years ago Regina Mac-Nack started a charity organisation called the food bank Amsterdam Zuid-Oost. Her job is to give food away to families that are not able to buy a meal every day of the week. She told our Bertine Krol about her job.
Pictures and an article from Bertine Krol on the Food Bank

Segment 4 - Czech and Spanish Public Discuss Anti Smoking Laws
Prague and Spain have banned smoking in public spaces. Radio Prague’s Michele Dobrovoni asked some Prague straphangers what they thought of the new rule. Christophe Schmidt reports from Barcelona.
Want to know all about EU policy regarding tobacco? Why not check out the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General...

Download this week's program as a high quality mp3

EuroQuest Rundown Late today but....

If you're really jonseing for a EuroDose of EuroGroubert, you can catch me on the BBC World Service program "The World Today" tonight at 20:00 CET or 18:00 GMT. The topic: will traditional media such as Newspaper, TV and, um, Radio succumb, whither and die in the face of new media? Tune in and let me know what you thought of the show!