cafebabel.com

'Taxidermia': Hungarian horror film or historical allegory?

('Jeffrey Andreoni',) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:35:42 -0000

As a Hungarian film scoops second prize at the Berlin film festival 2012, we focus on a gem from 2006. Few films lend themselves to as many readings as this film from the-then 33-year-old director György Pálfi. His second movie remains a critique of modern Hungary's history through its three generations of men

GPS: taking directions from a woman

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:31:01 -0000

Most satellite navigation devices predominantly use female voices – and German BMW drivers can’t cope with them. Is this sexism or science fiction?

Environment: the maggot in Steve Jobs’ apple

('ZoeBBee',) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:25:40 -0000

While tributes to its CEO Steve Jobs flood the web, don't forget Apple’s lack of green credentials

Twitter feed: reactions to Steve Jobs death

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:00:00 -0000

The CEO of Apple was without a doubt the biggest genius of the last decade. He passed away after suffering from pancreatic cancer at the age of 56 over the night of 6 October. Social networks such as facebook and twitter have overflooded with 2.0 tributes

Being green: German lifestyles are less sustainable than they'd think

('Carol Howard',) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:35:42 -0000

In Germany sustainability is in. Germans are buying organic yoghurt, separating their rubbish meticulously and not leaving the tap on when they brush their teeth. But, to be honest, they are actually being inconsistent, for they do also sometimes use a low-cost airline to jet across Europe, they cannot resist new trainers and they eat tomatoes in winter. So why are they more eco-friendly in their minds than in reality?

The importance of being eco-ideological in Budapest

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:15:42 -0000

Green is in fashion in the Hungarian capital, but the word is often just an empty trunk, a sales argument in a consumer world which forgot its ecological foundations long ago

Europe makes 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion

('Alison Frank',) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:15:00 -0000

When the 'Lisbon strategy' was launched in March 2000, EU member state leaders said that they wanted to take decisive steps towards eliminating poverty. Ten years later, during the worst economic crisis since 1929, the EU has named 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion. It’s about time, too

WAMP: inside the monthly Hungarian design fair

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:15:00 -0000

Since 2006, the monthly design market has attracted hundreds of young local designers like 'Musu' who display their creations in front of an ever-growing crowd of visitors. But WAMP is not only a collective promotion of Hungarian design, it’s also a formidable economic catalyst, with its international design week too

Fish fingers are 50 years old

('Andrew Christie',) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Captain Birdseye is still a winner with kids and in student fridges! We plead for the defence of Europe’s most square-shaped fillet of fish

Ikea, H&M, Nokia, Zara: a fairytale EU life built on brands

('Kate Stansfield',) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:45:00 -0000

The products we buy all bear the CE marking, French for 'European Conformity'. What if our lives were also conforming to the advertising messages of the leading brands in the European market? The big fishes are swallowing the small ones. Are they also picking away at our identity?

Is your gran a 'silver surfer'?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:57:36 -0000

French grandmas in stinging nettles, German grandpas at the European parliament and Polish grannies working in communist toilets - there's a visually colourful variety of 'ageing' expressions across the European continent

Dutch supermarkets at war in Europe

('Joss Corner',) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Special offers, two for the price of one, price-cuts, buy one get one half price, loyalty cards, vouchers… are you familiar with these methods of seduction? Supermarkets are engaging themselves in heightening competition to the point of declaring war on one another, such as in the Netherlands, where leading brand names are selling at a loss

REACH: inflammable regulation on chemical products

('Hayley Worsley-Carter',) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:15:00 -0000

After years of debate, the REACH regulation came into force in June 2007, revolutionising the chemical product market in Europe. It is now up to manufacturers to prove a product is safe prior to its distribution

Intellectual property, Sweden and the battle of The Pirate Bay

('Waldemar Ingdahl',) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:20:00 -0000

On 16 February, the most publicised trial of the content industry kicked off against the defendants responsible for the Bit Torrent tracker site. Four are charged with being accessories to breaking copyright law. They may face fines or up to two years in prison if found guilty

Morale at half mast as the EU enters recession

('Michelle Williams',) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Consumers or businesses? They both have the same problems. The terrible unemployment figures do not help morale. Latest titbit news from Brussels

EU ban: death to the incandescent light bulb

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:00:00 -0000

The EU approved the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs by 2012, which use five times more energy

Map: EU growth will slow down in 2008

('Pedro Pic\xc3\xb3n',) — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:56:00 -0000

The EU’s economy will grow slower than expected, falling from 2.7% in 2007 to 2.0% in 2008. Things will worsen in 2009. Take a look at your countries’ growth rates

Exploiting unpaid interns: rites of passage?

('c\xc3\xa9dric AUDINOT',) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Associations like Generation Precarity or Fairwork expose an exploited flexible labour force with intermittent incomes and no job security

Ebay or ham: how to save money in Spain

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

We’re more used to tightening our purse strings after the loss in purchasing power in countries like Spain. It’s become a veritable challenge to get to the end of the month for those who having to do a balancing act with their current accounts. How to buy for less?

Brussels: where’s Waris?

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

What with missing Somali supermodel-cum-UN ambassadors, the Spring European Council and naughty pupil Britain, ‘twas a hot climate this week in Brussels

Buying petrol in February 2008

('Hanna Sankowska',) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The price of gas has already reached 100 dollars (70 euros) per Brent barrel. But inflation figures in Europe are getting out of control. The situation in each EU country

1968: a tour of Europe's revolts

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Spain, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland and Germany - spinning through Europe's uprisings during that infamous year of rebellion

Apple gets fair on UK music downloads

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Portuguese no to reform treaty referendum, the pan-EU music marketplace and Sarkozy’s press conference

Buying condoms with a strong euro

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The euro may be breaking records compared to the dollar, but the explosive breakthrough of the Chinese yuan in the international monetary system has upset the traditional parities of currencies. Plus a condom price checklist

Yellow week: where did all the MEPs go?

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Call a plumber for leaking Balkan and Turkey progress reports, bye-bye Bosnians! aka Lidija Topic's 'total recall' and EU Wining and Dining Day

Mechanical masturbation

('Kate Martin',) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0000

In northern Europe, one out of two women uses a mechanical sex toy and 'Tupper-dildo' parties are increasingly popular

What REACH costs you

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The new European regulation on chemical substances is here, both for industries and animals. But research does not get the last word

Guido Sacconi: 'Industrialists: enough with propaganda!'

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Italian MEP and REACH Rapporteur Guido Sacconi on the long haul for the regulation on chemical substances

Within our REACH?

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The EU's chemical regulation - at a glance

Eastern ski resorts take centre piste

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Longer hours of daylight, groomed slopes, cheap fares and a chance to explore über-foreign cuisine and culture. More and more are taking to Slovenian, Bulgarian, Czech and Bosnian slopes

'No snow'

('Andrew Burgess',) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Winter is becoming disturbingly mild, humid and snow-less, a fact which is making the ski industry sweat

Cars before climate

('Ed Saunders',) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Car manufacturers will have to reduce petrol consumption in all new vehicles, say the European Commission. Yet Angela Merkel wants to defend the interests of the German car industry

Online outlaws

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

10 million online gamblers, 2, 000 websites: the online gaming community is ever-expanding, becoming a huge phenomenon in Europe. But in legal speak, things are far from harmonised

Paper mills of discord along the Uruguay River

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

By building pulp mills, Finnish global corporation Botnia 'is willing to export pollution' along the binational stream, Argentina claims. Their announcements of further highway blockades is disrupting trade and travel

Eastern property boom excludes the young

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 02:00:00 -0000

The wave of home acquisitions is pushing property prices up in Eastern Europe. Young people find it difficult to buy their first home

Europe meets Asia: reviving the Silk Road

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:00:00 -0000

As trade flourishes between the EU and Asia and regional integration accelerates, the Asian highway opens new routes to the East

Purchase power beats flower power on canals

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 02:00:00 -0000

Once a favourite of the flower power generation, living on a canal boat has become a privilege for the young and affluent. Today modern houseboats are not longer dingy eccentric dwellings for the marginal, but fully equipped modern pads

Montenegro goes on sale

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:00:00 -0000

For years the unspoiled beauty of Montenegro used to be the best kept secret in Europe. Now the sights of old Venetian squares, spectacular mountains, bays, sandy beaches are once more a favourite destination for globe-trotters around the world

Jesus Christ, king of burgers

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:08:00 -0000

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, July de 2006.

The ambiguous little miss piggy

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 06:58:00 -0000

Paris, France, summer 2006

Lidl cracks the whip

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0000

Lidl supermarkets are a familiar sight in malls around Europe, popular among students and cash-strapped families. But according to the German services employees’ union, ver.di, Lidl supervisors repress their workers and enforce 45-hour work weeks.

What’s love got to do with it?

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 14:00:00 -0000

February 14th is a special “day of love” in most places in the world. Do we really need it or is it just a marketing scam?

Do you speak Eurofood?

('Emily Griffins',) — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:32:00 -0000

Brussels has announced a truly European food policy. They call it ‘From Farm to Fork’. And of course they wish you ‘bon appétit!’