20 years after Maggie Thatcher’s notorious Bruges speech, time for another look… Continue reading
October 29, 2008
by Nosemonkey
14 Comments
Month: October 2008
October 28, 2008
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
Mandelson and EU openness
Yes, I’ve gone quiet again of late. Sorry. Illness and work have conspired to make me feel like poo. Still, an interesting tidbit from the whole “did Peter Mandelson get up to anything dodgy with Russian oligarchs?” thing that’s been … Continue reading
October 23, 2008
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
90th anniversary of the end of WWI
It’s looming – and from today it’s apparently officially acceptable to wear a poppy. No longer are the Remembrance Sunday parades packed out with survivors of the Somme, even veterans from the Second World War are getting rarer by the … Continue reading
October 20, 2008
by Nosemonkey
11 Comments
The constitutional position of European Commissioners
As Baroness Ashton heads to Brussels, is she really able to become a Commissioner? Is ANY British politician? Continue reading
October 16, 2008
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
EU democracy from an unlikely source
And from the most unlikely of sources – Britain’s leading terrestrial commercial television channel ITV. The self-same ITV that’s been kicking up a fuss over it’s obligation to provide “public service” programmes for the last year or more. So, following … Continue reading
October 14, 2008
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
Italian racism – not just against Roma
After the worrying moves against Italy’s Roma population back in the summer, it seems that racial tensions are on the rise Italy-wide. After all, if the state’s going to sanction the persecution of one ethnic minority, why not start having … Continue reading
October 8, 2008
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
The Great Depression: A reminder amid the ever-increasing hyperbole
“about a quarter of the entire population, some 30 million Americans, were without any income at all. Two million vagrants… roamed the country looking for work. Twenty per cent of the nation’s school children were under-weight; in the poorest communities… … Continue reading
October 6, 2008
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
The credit crunch and the EU
It’s fairly apparent that even the experts haven’t had the first clue what they were doing over the last few years (“yeah, let’s lend money to someone who’s got no hope of paying us back – that’s a good idea!”), … Continue reading
October 3, 2008
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Meet Britain’s new European Commissioner
Here she is – Baroness Ashton. Never heard of her? Neither’s pretty much anyone else. I think that’s part of the point. Continue reading