September 19, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Margot Wallström and citizen engagement
A new post from me at dLiberation, reporting on Monday’s launch of the Tomorrow’s Europe deliberative poll. You may also want to check out the introductory post by Professor James Fishkin, Director of the Deliberative Democracy Center at Stanford University, … Continue reading
September 18, 2007
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
A delightful time was had by all at last night’s launch debate/party for Tomorrow’s Europe in Brussels – except my feet, which got pounded by the picturesque Brussels cobbles (thanks to be being too cheap to get a taxi) and … Continue reading
September 16, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Off to Brussels on the morrow
It’s been a few years since I’ve trekked out to the Belgian capital, and once again it’s work-related – popping to this impressive building alongside the European Parliament to cover the launch of Tomorrow’s Europe for openDemocracy. More details soon … Continue reading
September 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
So, is new Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov going to be the next President? After all, Boris Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister (out of nowhere) shortly before the 2000 presidential election in which Putin took power. Is Vlad … Continue reading
September 9, 2007
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
It was a good day – almost enough to make up for the rest of this summer being so interminably grey and boring. We won the football, we won the rugby and we won the cricket. Then it was all … Continue reading
September 8, 2007
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
Get rid of at least one of the psycho twins now that you’ve got a general election two years early. Poland should always have been at the forefront of the 2004 EU intake’s push for serious reform – but thanks … Continue reading
September 7, 2007
by Nosemonkey
14 Comments
Everyone in the UK knows that of the national daily papers, it’s really only the barely-read (and increasingly unreadable) Guardian (c.311,000 sales per issue) and Independent (c.190,000 sales per issue) who are in favour of the European Union. The Times … Continue reading
September 5, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Dog bites man Wednesday
Having not finished the long-winded, political theory-heavy (and therefore excruciatingly dull) post I started this morning, I thought I’d have a hunt round the BBC News site to find something worthy of a brief musing. But no, it was not … Continue reading
September 4, 2007
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
Not having particularly kept up with Scottish politics after the ’45, and despite having close Scottish relations involved on the fringe of the Scottish political scene, the niceties of the devolution settlement have largely eluded me. I’ve only made it … Continue reading
September 3, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
When we pulled out that time, we tried not to leave anyone behind – the chap in charge of the unfortunate rear-guard even popping back in a motor-boat the day after the evacuation finished to see if anyone was still … Continue reading
August 31, 2007
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
A fun little article on Europe in 2057, combined with Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s reiteration of the UK government’s position on a referendum over the new EU treaty, has got me pondering once again. (Warning – it’ll be a long … Continue reading
August 28, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
See? Some, y’know, politics and stuff soon. In the meantime, read this and this, then put pen to paper. And if you want more Europe-focussed bits and pieces (what with this being an EU-centred blog and all), try John Worth’s … Continue reading
August 17, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Ashley Mote MEP, a former UKIPer (who even they wouldn’t have in the party more than a few weeks) who went on to join the controversial far right “Identity, Sovereignty, Tradition” group in the European Parliament, is a bit of … Continue reading
August 17, 2007
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
As regular readers will know, I’m no economist and don’t pretend to be – which is why I sometimes get all confused. While I think John Redwood is a bit of a fool for raising the whole scrapping inheritance tax … Continue reading