Internet restrictions passed in February 2010 are set to go into effect in Belarus on Jan. 6, amid international criticism. The law creates several tiers of limitations on use of the Internet. Anyone who owns a shared connection, or a cyber-cafe, must monitor all users to insure that they do not visit a "blacklisted" site, or, in some cases, simply a site hosted off of Belarus servers. Users are required to identify themselves, and the owners of shared connections must keep a surfing history of each user for at least a year. Violations of any of these provisions may result in fines.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to the good ol' Soviet-era KGB, applies pressure on the VKontakte social networking site—in a bid to snuff post-electoral protests, and put a long-escaped genie back into the totalitarian bottle. Good luck with that, guys. From Reuters:

Thousands of workers across Greece walked off the job on Dec. 1, in the seventh general strike this year to protest government austerity measures. The strike came two days after the new Greek emergency government won European Union approval for a crucial sixth installment of bailout aid, without which the country would have faced default. National rail service was halted, and ferries were moored in their ports. Courts and schools closed, hospitals were operating with only emergency staff and customs officials walked out. Thousands of workers marched in central Athens, while youths clashed with riot police in the Exarchia district. Public transportation ran a limited service to enable workers to attend protest marches. (NYT, Dec. 2)

German police on Nov. 27 battled thousands of anti-nuclear protestors—many chained to railroad tracks—who blocked the shipment of radioactive waste returning from a French treatment plant. The rail convoy was halted for 18 hours outside its final destination at Dannenberg, including overnight, amid mass demonstrations. Protesters boasted that the blockade's duration now topped the record set during a shipment one year ago. Police said they detained about 1,300 people. The 150 tons of uranium waste, originally from German nuclear plants, was being moved in 11 containers from a facility run by the French nuclear giant Areva in Valognes, Normandy. It was the last of 12 shipments, because of a German move away from nuclear power.

A 24-hour strike in Portugal against proposed austerity measures grounded flights and halted public transport Nov. 24, in what labor leaders called a "red card" for the government. Austerity measures adopted in return for a 78 billion euro ($104 billion) bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Hundreds of thousands of workers took part in the action, including air traffic controllers, trasnportation workers, teachers and hospital staff. The strike was called by Portugal's two leading labor unions, the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP) General Workers Union (UGT) (BBC News, AP, Nov. 24)

The hegemonic media line that Greece's new "austerity" government is being staffed by non-ideological "technocrats" is deflated by Mark Ames on the Naked Capitalism blog Nov. 16. Ames documents that in fact this "technocratic" government includes figures from the old-line Greek fascist right, spawn of the military junta that ruled from 1967 to 1974. The post sports a photo of three men walking on a college campus—one armed with a club, another with an axe. The text explains:

Riots broke out in Italy and Greece Nov. 17 as new Italian prime minister Mario Monti won a parliamentary vote of confidence in his new government. The vote was held after Monti announced new "reform" measures to address a financial crisis that he calls a "serious emergency." Student protesters took to the streets in Milan, clashing with riot police as they tried to reach Bocconi University. More than 50,000 took to the streets in Greece to rally against similar austerity measures announced by the parliament-appointed emergency government headed by Lucas Papademos, former governor of the Greek central bank. Riot police fired tear gas during an anti-austerity march in Athens. The Greek protests marked the 38th anniversary of the 1973 uprising at the Athens Polytechnic University against the dictatorship then ruling Greece, which saw many students die but led to the fall of the military regime.

The Basque armed group ETA issued a statement Oct. 20 saying it is ending its 43-year armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks. The group made the announcement to Basque daily Gara, which it regularly uses as a mouthpiece. ETA declared a permanent cease-fire in January, but up to now had not renounced armed struggle, a key demand of the Spanish government as a condition for talks.