Sunny ‘Liberal Conspiracy’ Hundal is organising a follow-up to 2008′s successful ‘Blog Nation’ event. Details over at Liberal Conspiracy, but Sunny asks what we’d like to discuss; below the fold, then, are some thoughts. In terms of logistics, I would make three suggestions. Given the layout, it’s important that each table isn’t talking amongst itself [...]

The European Commission is calling for a suggested maximum volume to be set on MP3 players, to protect users’ hearing reports the BBC. One proposal is to have a limit of 85 dB, which can be overridden as far as 100 dB. This is a bit daft for three reasons. Firstly, it’s a bad idea. [...]

It would appear that Premiers Sarkozy and Merkel are joining with Gordon Brown in wanting a super tax on on bonuses and, perhaps, further action to prevent banking causing a recession such as we are experiencing at the moment again. On 2008 figures, that’s slightly more than fifty per cent of the EU’s GDP1, which [...]

Shortly, white smoke will appear over a building in a European capital and, apparently after having checked that the incumbent has testicles, a new political figure will be anointed with little formal power but great powers of influence and suggestion. Not habemus papam, but habemus praesidentem consilium europeum1. As you may be aware, I am [...]

There’s a storm brewing over the political positions of Michal Kaminski, particularly regarding his relations to the National Revival of Poland, aka NOP, and the Committee to Defend the Good Name of Jedwabne. The NOP is now regarded by just about everyone as a nasty bunch of anti-Semites (their manifesto includes a line from Mein [...]

The United Kingdom Independence Party are the largest members of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy group in the European Parliament. Amongst their European allies are Dansk Folkeparti (DF or the Danish People’s Party). DF have published an advert: After you’ve finished finding the poor photo manipulation (look at the swords…), it’s worth reading the [...]

Just doing some working out for a blog post and I thought this might be useful to record. I believe it’s all right. Country Governing Party Europarty Austria SDP PES Belgium CD&V EPP Bulgaria Socialist PES Cyprus Communist Nordic Green Left Czech Republic Civic Platform EC&R Denmark Venstre ALDE Estonia Reform ALDE Finland SDP PES [...]

Every time there’s an election, there’s a vote-matcher-widgety-hoojamaflit-thingie. Yes, that’s a technical term and the one at EUProfiler.eu is pretty good. According to its outputs, my closest UK party is the LibDems; the main reason it didn’t give me the Labour Party, it would appear, is that I am more liberal on law and order. [...]

Hope Not Hate have set up a page at action.hopenothate.org.uk/eventsnearme so you can find events near you campaigning against the BNP in advance of the Euro and council elections. There seems to be a real chance that the BNP will gain their first MEP at the forthcoming Euro elections because of the proportional system. It’s [...]