Rocco Buttiglione, who resigned as Italian candidate for EU commissioner last week, now believes he can turn his political defeat into victory and form new religious movement in Europe (see related afoe post here). According to the Guardian -
At a debate entitled “The trial of the Catholic witch” in Milan’s Teatro Nuovo on Saturday, Mr [...]

Catalan, Basque, Valencian and Galician as EU official languages? That’s what Spanish foreign minister Moratinos proposes. You’d think the famously proud Catalans would be purring with cultural satisfaction.
You’d be wrong. Last week the Economist observed the astonishing reaction of some Catalans to this suggestion. They’re furious that Valencian might be given status equal with [...]

Here’s an audio link for a change. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reports on changing family patterns in Italy. The report I would suggest is pretty ‘fair and balanced’. As a side issue I think she nicely draws attention to the way ‘gender equality issues’ and unequal family caring responsibilities may impact the ability of [...]

One of the problems of being a ‘dissenting voice’ is that it is hard for others to get a grip on a yardstick for evaluating what you are saying. Normally I am considered ‘gloomy’. But if what I am arguing against is a concoction of all the ‘best case’ scenarios rolled meticulously into one, it [...]

The Financial Times reports today that the team lead by Wim Kok, set up after the March economics summit, and charged with carrying out a review of the Lisbon process, is likely to find that we are badly behind schedule. This is hardly surprising since the Lisbon agenda was rather stronger on rhetorical nicety (including [...]

?Europe? has not had a good press in recent years, coming under criticism for things as diverse as its moribund economy, its lack of military might, its squabbling governments or even the return of anti-semitism.

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While Volkswagen’s long cold summer trundles on relentlessly there is more news on the wage reduction/increasing hours front.
Following the decision by workers at Siemens and DaimlerChrysler to work longer hours announced earlier in the summer, Volkswagen itself and construction company Bilfinger are looking for similar deals. (The Economist this week has a profile [...]

Jumping in feet first ahead of AFOE’s more knowledgeable German-based members (of course fools always rush in where…..), I can’t help but be concerned by reading this about the annual “Pressefest” of the National Democratic Party of Germany:
what struck the German intelligence officers who observed last month’s gathering in M?ckay, Saxony, was less [...]

August is traditionally a dead month for news. Government is on vacation. Lots of businesses slow down. And it’s too hot for political violence. Only heathen insurgents from warm countries actually stir in August. As the major journals turn increasingly to junior reporters and stringers while the A-team hits the [...]

…Is that they tend to only give you two options.
Following Jacques Chirac’s announcement that France will be joining the other countries holding refeendums on the constitution it’s prompted me to post a thought about the constitution referendum(s) that I’ve had before - wouldn’t it be nice to have a third option?
I’ve written here before about [...]