A mother of three has been shot in Uccle and EUObserver is jumping up and down reporting on the crime rates in various Brussels communes. You can just hear the typical EU expat having a whinge at Place Lux complaining about things, about how unsafe Brussels streets are… and then […]
A good friend of mine works for GAIA / No Burn, an organisation that makes the case for alternatives to incinerating waste. The problem is that for his work my friend there has to fly all over this place – this year already to California and The Philippines – all […]
Perhaps I have a naive and simplistic approach to it, but for me Facebook Friends are actually supposed to be people, not organisations. Hence I am automatically going to reject anyone called ‘European Federalists Secretariat‘, ‘Young Socialists Georgia’ or ‘Abf Södra-Östra Dalarna’. Why is this important? Firstly, I have no […]
Seems that BIS has had a re-think and reckons that the UK should still provide some scholarships to the College of Europe in Bruges, as reported in today’s FT. This is an issue that I first covered here on 29th January this year, so the change of heart has also […]
I ran a workshop on online campaigning in Brussels last night, and in the initial round of introductions I asked the participants if they blogged, were on Facebook, on Twitter, or used RSS. A couple of people said they ‘didn’t have time for RSS‘. I was flabbergasted. How do you […]
There’s something deeply wrong with the ‘debate’ currently going on about the future of the BBC, and I think it boils down to the essential question: what is the value of public service broadcasting? Two themes dominate the debate at the moment. The first is a kind of cost-benefit analysis, […]
OK, the UK has some difficulties due to the financial crisis and is struggling out of recession, but does Cameron really reckon that people think the place is “in a complete and utter mess” as he has termed it in today’s speech that’s supposed to be part of his fightback […]
This has happened to me so many times that seeing the comic is just painful. Can I send this to clients before I start to work with them?
I have a problem. A serious problem. I’m beset by some kind of political depression. It’s not because I fear the result of the UK’s forthcoming general election – even if Labour wins there will be scant optimism. The battle is about who cuts what, when – aside from occasional […]
Ballot papers are currently being sent out for the Labour selection in Leyton & Wanstead and I’ve made up my mind – I’m going to be casting my vote for John Cryer. I was unable to attend the hustings yesterday so I’m going on the basis of the materials sent […]
The shortlist for the Labour selection in Leyton & Wanstead has been published. The names on it are: Tristram Hunt (still no site online, despite this) John Cryer Terence Paul (no website as far as I can tell) Sophie Linden Ahmad Shazad (no website as far as I can tell) […]
There seems to be considerable surprise today that James Purnell, former Work & Pensions secretary, is to stand down as a Member of Parliament at the general election. Purnell is 39 and has been an MP since 2001. Personally I’ve never really worked out what I think of Purnell – […]
