Viewropa is a new collaborative European blog. I’ve always wanted to see a great pan-European blog. It seems bizarre to me that Europeans are tying themselves ever-closer together politically and economically while, at the same time, not really keeping track of what’s going on in other parts of the continent. And by that I don’t just mean in terms of what’s happening in the news. It’s easy enough to pop over to the BBC and read about, say, Latvia. But if you do, you’ll read about politics and the occasional, odd story (Latvian Does Crazy Thing; Gets Hurt/Killed!) but not much else. Your understanding of Latvia increases by zero percent. That’s pretty much the case with Slovenia as well, especially when it comes to the foreign press. There’s only one international news service in this country: Reuters. They have an office on Trg republike in Ljubljana, from which they file occasional election stories or cover the latest Slovene-Croatian spat. Other than that, the pickings are slim. Every once in a while, a foreign correspondent will arrive to write their obligatory: "Slovenia — A Small Jewel in Europe" travel story, but that’s it. None of these stories provide you with much insight. Of course, this is where blogs and bloggers come in. A while ago, Living in Europe tried to gather together European bloggers and forge a community out of them. Unfortunately, it collapsed on itself creating high-energy gamma rays and, eventually, a black hole. It’s still around, but only as a faded, neglected aggregator. Viewropa is the new hope. And it needs members. Give it a look, and if you like it, consider joining.

My name is Michael M., and I approve this message.