I, too, have been following the situation in Ukraine — my roomate has been there for a week as an election observer — and I briefly flirted with the idea of writing something snarky and facetious about the developing situation. But I realize now this may be the wrong tack. After all, there may be [...]

“This is a crime. Even God will not accept it.” And God, we know, is willing to put up with a lot.
I don’t think there’s anything to be said beyond the obvious about the death of Margaret Hassan: This person sounds like a real heroine, it amazes me that two or more people can [...]

Trying to explain the inner workings of EU governance to non-Europeans is a bit like trying to explain the importance of the American League’s designated hitter rule to baseball neophytes. So it’s in the spirit of the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox that I present my European press review, written for Slate, for [...]

Sorry for long hiatus recently — I’ve been quite busy with the restaurant these last few months.
In the meantime, however, two Eastern European governments have fallen, and nobody really seems to care. In Prague, the ineffectual Vladimir Spidla resigned as Prime Minister in late June. Most of the country was too wrapped up in [...]

Am I the only one here that thinks Gerhard Schroeder’s making himself look like a bit of a goon with his condescending lectures to east European countries that they’d better raise their taxes… or else?
Here’s an issue that’s been quietly bubbling for some time, at least here in Prague. Either both sides have raised the [...]

More on the British referendum, here’s Johann Hari’s clarion call for pro-Europe Brits to finally stand up and fight. The money quote:
This is a European country, and we must not allow a lying Australian-American billionaire and his paid lackeys to poison our sense of our own national interest.
Indeed. A minor quibble, however, with this statement: [...]

I haven?t seen much discussion here about some of the weirder effects of the May 1 EU expansion. As one of the representatives of ?New Europe? (a moniker I generally loath) that’s partly my fault, as I?ve had zero time to post recently.
I was unable to come up with any news links about the [...]

On the previously mentioned subject of Europe’s “free” movement of labor (and the possibility of a massive influx of cheap labor from the east come EU accession time) here’s an article I wrote on the topic in November for Czech and Slovak Construction Journal (for some reason the article’s not posted online).
If you’re too [...]

The Czech press digest Fleet Sheet puts out a free email bulletin with blog-like observations on Czech culture, business and politics. Though it’s sometimes a bit off base, it’s worth looking at to get a sense of the scene in Prague. Today’s…
Why does Prague airport have expensive self-service parking machines, when the CR is a [...]

To my new colleagues at Fistful, I’d like to offer an apology for being silent lately. I’ve taken over back-of-the-house management duties at the restaurant I co-own in Prague, Tulip Cafe and, well, managing a restaurant is about as much work as you’d imagine, and then some.
The kitchen at Tulip is truly a cultural [...]