Please note the comments to the previous post. Us bloggers, eh? we’re useless. This is where having a sub comes in… Update: Ha ha ha ha ha! I’ve only just noticed the typo in the title as well… Remind me … Continue reading →

Effectively. And they’re right. Commissioner for human rights Alvaro Gil-Robles has slated Blair and co’s insistence on being able to lock us all up as they deem fit (and the rest) in no uncertain terms. There is, he rightly says, … Continue reading →

This Sunday get the papers and read the book pages. On Monday, Mark Stuart’s authorised biography of the late Labour leader John Smith is published. I’ve been skimming through a review copy and there is, shall we say, a lot … Continue reading →

(*not really – that’s, like, just a matter of opinion, man…) BBC bashing seems endemic among certain sections of the UK blogosphere – all (mostly) on the right – and is increasingly sneaking into parts of the right-wing press. I … Continue reading →

I’ve been really bad at updating my blogroll of late. If you link here, let me know – a few places I’ve spotted via Technorati etc. I’ve been meaning to add but lost, and I’m pondering one of those reciprocal … Continue reading →

What the hell’s going on? We’re a tiny little island and have been in economic and military decline for over a century. So why the hell is our government charging all over the world trying to sort out everyone else’s … Continue reading →

Reading through the full text of Jack Straw’s speech announcing the (temporary) suspension of Britain’s plans for a referendum on the constitutional treaty, its fairly tricky to find anything major to disagree with. And I’m no fan of Jack Straw. … Continue reading →

I’m off to Hay on Wye this afternoon for work purposes. Looks like it’ll be raining. Joy. I’ll also certainly be surrounded by far too many snobby “intellectuals” and wannabe authors for my liking (and unable to tell them that … Continue reading →

Someone appears not to have told the Latvian parliament that there’s no point any more… They’ve just ratified the EU constitution, despite the thing being well and truly deceased. Good to see some enthusiasm, but really – what’s the point? … Continue reading →

The trouble is that we�ve got, to resort to clich�, a chicken/egg scenario when it comes to the EU. The principle criticism against the EU is that it lacks democratic accountability. Which it does, and anyone who says not is … Continue reading →

Some of these may prove useful today: Non Tibi Spiro – which has links to a load of blogs in Dutch as well Hollandaise Frans Groenendijk Vermetel Sered’s POV Zacht Ei Steeph

(Why does putting “Dutch” in front of anything make it sound rude? Very odd…) Anyway, Non Tibi Spiro already has the result. What’s it going to mean when the Netherlands vote no as well? No one knows. Anyone who pretends … Continue reading →

Probably the best bet at this stage: “What is important now is having a time for reflection with the Dutch referendum in a couple of days’ time and the European council in the middle of June where the leaders will … Continue reading →

Entirely unrelated to the French vote, but too stupid not to make a note. Oliver Kamm: “Gerhard Schr�der has proved the most feckless and unprincipled Chancellor in the history of democratic Germany.” Erm… At the risk of sounding like every … Continue reading →