Somewhat busy…<\/p>\n
Neeka has a roundup of Ukraine news responses<\/a> in the wake of President Yuschenko teaming up<\/a> with ex-President Yanukovych (the guy who supposedly poisoned him). Surely the Orange Revolution is dead? Is this simply yet another temporary alliance, a last-minute cop-out, or another sign of Yuschenko’s slow fall from power<\/a>?<\/p>\n It’s not just Ukraine, though. The rest of eastern Europe’s also decidedly unstable<\/a>. So where’s the next Vaclav Havel<\/a>, and what’s he going to write about<\/a>?<\/p>\n Talking of writing, more on blogging as a waste of time<\/a> from the Economist.<\/p>\n Oh, and as much as I’m getting bored by the civil liberties thing, this can’t be ignored<\/a> (even if the story is a load of rubbish, as I suspect):<\/p>\n “Gordon Brown is planning a massive expansion of the ID cards project that would widen surveillance of everyday life by allowing high-street businesses to share confidential information with police databases.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, over in the Times, another ID story<\/a> that might explain the Brown one, if true:<\/p>\n “Tony Blair\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds identity card scheme could make up to \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd11 billion in \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdprofits\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd for the government by imposing a range of additional charges on the public, a confidential Home Office memo claims.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then again, if Blair’s staying for at least another year<\/a>, as the Sunday Telegraph claims, maybe Gordon won’t be held responsible when it’s too late to backtrack on the bloody things…<\/p>\n And now off to Fruitstock<\/a> to listen to a load of bands I’ve never heard of and probably get pickpocketed… If you want more linky goodness to keep yourself occupied, check out the latest Britblog Roundup<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Somewhat busy… Neeka has a roundup of Ukraine news responses in the wake of President Yuschenko teaming up with ex-President Yanukovych (the guy who supposedly poisoned him). Surely the Orange Revolution is dead? Is this simply yet another temporary alliance, … Continue reading