May 3, 2007
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
Please note: LOCAL. Pissed off with Tony Blair? Think David Cameron’s a nob? Don’t like the way the Lib Dems got rid of Charles Kennedy? Against the Iraq war? Fine. Don’t take it out on your local councillors – unless … Continue reading
May 2, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Anyone even slightly familiar of the chain of events that led to the fall of the Soviet Union and European communism will be aware of the importance of the Solidarity movement. Short version: it was one of the sparks that … Continue reading
May 2, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on A Turkey mini roundup
Bloomberg and the Associated Press have good roundups of yesterday’s events – the constitutional court blocking ex-Islamist presidential nominee Abdullah Gul and all that, plus the various threats to re-write the constitution. The best place to start, however, is probably … Continue reading
May 1, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
(Hey, it’s May Day after all, and the fancy parades of Soviet military might are a thing of the past (oh yes, you still get them, but they’re nowhere near as cool) – I thought I’d get a bit of … Continue reading
April 27, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Chechnya – a(nother) crisis brewing?
Helicopter crash, 17 dead – all military. “Involved in a major military operation against separatist rebels at the time, Russian military sources are quoted as saying.” May have been “shot down” – no confirmation yet. If it was, expect a … Continue reading
April 25, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Presidential problems – France and Romania
At one end of Europe, the invective is beginning to rise again in the French elections, as today is the day third-placed centrist Francois Bayrou is expected to announce who – if anyone – he’s going to throw his support … Continue reading
April 24, 2007
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Expecting insightful analysis about Yeltsin’s place in history? Sorry – my computer crashed again and ate that one. (And I’d been loosely working on it since I first heard the news yesterday afternoon and all…) Instead, have a couple of … Continue reading
April 23, 2007
by Nosemonkey
20 Comments
One of my most unrelenting (and occasionally nutty) eurosceptic visitors popped up the other day reckoning that I must hate St George’s Day because I’m pro-EU (yes, he’s one of those who rarely reads/understands what I write, so has me … Continue reading
April 22, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Euroblog roundup 3
Is up now at Siberian Light (ta Andy!) – loads of good stuff, from Moldovan web awards (yes, really) to the French elections. Speaking of which, it’s the long-expected Sarko/Sego runoff (my prediction of an additional last-minute surge for Bayrou … Continue reading
April 21, 2007
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
The latest polls (also the last, what with voting about to take place in the first round) putting Sarkozy and Royal just 1% apart – and Le Pen overtaking Bayrou. It’s all still hugely unpredictable, in other words. According to … Continue reading
April 21, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
DK has the best roundup and overview of this latest EU-wide attack on freedom of speech from our dear German chums (60 years on still not realising that you don’t fight fascism by banning things), with the International Herald Tribune … Continue reading
April 16, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
The clock’s ticking, it’s still very tight, and deals are being proposed left, right and centre, important issues are being avoided, and the English language press is struggling to explain it all (and sometimes being deconstructed in the process – … Continue reading
April 14, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
One of my ongoing convictions about the worth of the EU is that its very presence, and the vague carrot of potential EU membership, can be a force for good in the lesser-developed states of the European fringe – following … Continue reading
April 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Boris Berezovsky – the exiled multi-millionaire Russian businessman and opponent of the Kremlin whom “poison spy” (i.e. ex-FSB man) Alexander Litvinenko was allegedly ordered to assassinate, prompting his investigations into Putin’s Russia that ended in serious allegations and, presumably, his … Continue reading