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Pioneers and Pirates Demand A Free Internet
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Tim Berners-Lee, the man who is responsible for the internet came to the European Parliament to deliver an impassioned plea to keep the internet open, free and available to all. He described the internet as a medium that didn’t discriminate on...
Blessed Are The Peace Volunteers
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The European Union may set up a new volunteering organisation, the European Peace Corps, after the European Parliament adopted a resolution on democracy building in external relations in the EU. Item 17 calls on the council, Commission and Member S...
The Disarming Mr Blix
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Ahead of the UK’s Iraq Inquiry, ex Chief Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix spoke in Brussels at an event organised by the European Policy Centre and presented his thoughts on the Iraq war and nuclear disarmament. He said that the early ’90R...
The Tories and Europe
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There have always been two factions in the British Conservative party when it comes to Europe. The pro-Europeans see engaging with Europe as part of the nations trading legacy and see the value of being part of a group of democratic states. The Euro...
Rethinking International Relations: Meet A Guerrilla Diplomat
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Daryl Copeland has served in the Canadian Diplomatic service for almost three decades and has traveled on six continents as a backpacker. He sees the traditional diplomacy institutions as not being able to cope with the complexities of a global world...
Painting Provence
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American artist Patricia Clendening Buzzerio had her artistic spirit awakened when she lived in Provence. By taking up a paintbrush she was influenced by her mother, who was a gifted artist in stained glass, and this is evident in her use of colour a...
ECR Today, Gone Tomorrow?
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The controversy over Michal Kaminski shows no sign of dying down, indeed as the British election campaign has unofficially started, it seems that Labour will keep it alive. This is causing concern to the Czech Civic Democratic Party (ODS), who have h...
The Return Of Uninspired Hollywood Movies Part II
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There is nothing more depressing than reading a list of the latest offerings from Hollywood. Imagination is a rare quality there and the trends are easy to figure out. A film gets some unpredicted success and then the studios compete to produce more...
Barroso’s Back
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President Barroso gives every impression of being the happiest man on Earth and he is rarely seen these days without a huge grin. Certainly everything seems to be going his way; his re-election with a Lisbon-proof mandate, the appointment of a Counci...
In Praise Of Mad Scientists
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The ten IgNobel awards have just been awarded in front of a crowd of leading experts. The awards were set up in 1991 by the Annals of Improbable research to hail scientific research that ‘”that cannot, or should not, be reproduced’...
Myanmar Opposition Offers The Military Leaders A National Reconciliation Proposal
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Exiled politicians from Myanmar arrived in Brussels to meet with parliamentarians and others in their bid to put pressure on Senior General Than Shwe’s military rule, ahead of expected 2010 elections. The Obama administration has announced a ch...
Girls, Guns and Gonzo
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Veteran Brussels journalist, Martin Jay has had an interesting and varied career as a freelancer, which included setting up The Sprout, an irreverent and provocative look at the Brussels scene. In his new book, Girls, Guns and Gonzo, he reviews his e...
A Cry From The Heart
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The greatest pain any parent can suffer is to have a child die. This happened to Ismael Khatib, a Palestinian from the Jenin refugee camp. His twelve year old son, Ahmed, shot by Israeli soldiers, was one of many child casualties of conflict, but wha...
Quick, Quick, Slogo!
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2011 has been designated as “The European Year of Volunteering” by the European Commission, who have promised six million euros to support the call to raise the profile of volunteering and encourage the voluntary sector to learn from each...
Six Days A Week
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After the underwhelming appointments of Van Rompuy and Ashton, the European Parliament was treated to some traffic stopping star power as Sir Paul McCartney came to speak at an event organised by Edward MacMillan-Scott, entitled “Less Meat = Le...
Brown and the Baroness
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There comes a point in the downward trajectory of a politicians life, when their support for a contender is the kiss of death. so it appears for Gordon Brown, the beleaguered British Prime minister. After promoting his arch rival for the post of Coun...
ECR and EPP: War or Peace?
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There seem to be two Conservative parties in the ECR Group, but which is the ‘real’ one? Whilst many Conservative MEP’s are sticking to the party line, many out of conviction, some out of a desire not to rock the boat ahead of a UK...
ECR: After The Coup
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On 4th November, the Freedom Association, who are behind the Better Off Out campaign, launched their Freedom In Brussels branch with speeches by Michal Kaminski, ECR Group Leader and Roger Helmer, ECR MEP and Hon Chairman of the Freedom Association.
It’s The Celluloid, Daaarling
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Fashionistas have used many sources for inspiration and one of the richest is the world of film. Even before celluloid started to talk the stars of the silver screen have given a sense of style to audiences. Some films have influenced fashion, others...
The Sun Sets On Brown, But Rises On Blair
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Harold Wilson once said that “A week is a long time in politics” and time seemed to drag for the Labour party at their annual conference. Privately,labourites are talking about the imminent election in apocalyptic tones and there are mutt...
