February 16, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Busy again today, so have a gander at Siberian Light’s first in a planned series of interviews with Russia-focussed bloggers – this time with the entertainingly exasperation and rage-fuelled La Russophobe. Edit: Self-congratulation has now gone on request – apparently … Continue reading
February 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
OK, so what have I missed while I’ve been busy? The Centre For European Reform blog has been discussing the failure of the EU constitution and the need for a new kind of “pro-Europeanism”, in relation to that “Europe’s Story” … Continue reading
February 12, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
And a slightly new look for the blog to boot – largely because a) the back-end code with the old template was a bit dodgy in places and b) I needed to work out how Wordpress works a bit more … Continue reading
February 7, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
I was a bit annoyed last year when I ended up getting lumbered with one of the first of the new “e-passport” things. Not any more – I should have had more faith in our government’s ability to cock everything … Continue reading
January 25, 2007
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Sorry – missed this yesterday… The [tag]European Parliament[/tag] has yet to vote on the final report following its investigation into CIA [tag]extraordinary rendition[/tag] flights in Europe, but finalised it is (and you can download it from the temporary committee’s website … Continue reading
January 23, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Overly theatrical
/obvious response (in light of responses to earlier dawn arrests)
January 14, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
A very, very small note in the Independent on Sunday: “[tag]Tony Blair[/tag] will propose this week to change the law to allow government departments to share personal data, including people’s medical records and tax details… The Prime Minister is likely … Continue reading
January 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on A weekend European roundup
The Economist’s Edward Lucas’s [tag]central Europe[/tag]an diary is well worth a read: “it is odd that Poland gets so much mockery. There is a kind of snobbish disdain for Europe’s east rooted very deeply in the British psyche. Before writing … Continue reading
January 10, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on More on the EU and gas
Via La Russophobe, new(ish) blog Opinionist.com has more on [tag]Europe,/tag]’s dependence on [tag]Russian gas[/tag], noting that “[tag]Russia[/tag] has an almost perfect monopoly over Europe – [tag]EU[/tag] members and former-Soviet nations – as the sole provider of [tag]Natural Gas[/tag].” If that … Continue reading
January 9, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Because our nutty neighbours [tag]Russia[/tag] and [tag]Belarus[/tag] are playing up again, energy disputes are in the spotlight once again. If the [tag]EU[/tag]’s largest economy’s being hit, guess what? Yep – a major overhaul of EU [tag]energy policy[/tag] is on the … Continue reading
January 4, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Barack Obama
Remember, kids – the reason he won’t become President is because his *lungs* are black… Nothing else. Oh no…
January 1, 2007
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
A New Year, and the [tag]Eurozone[/tag] expands to 13 members (with [tag]Slovenia[/tag] joining), and the [tag]EU[/tag] itself to 27 (with [tag]Bulgaria[/tag] and [tag]Romania[/tag]). Over at Fistful Tobias has a quick overview, noting “that the countries’ accession has caused almost no … Continue reading
December 22, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Turkmenbashi death follow-up
Following yesterday’s welcome news of the death of a dotty dictator, lots of people have begun to realise that the potential for this to be very important news indeed is really rather high. This from the Washington Post neatly explains … Continue reading
December 21, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
2006 – a good year for dead dictators, first Pinochet, now Saparmurat Niyazov, self-styled “Turkmenbashi” and president for life of Turkmenistan. He’s the one who renamed the months and days of the week after his friends and family,ordered an ice … Continue reading