Later today, Iain Duncan Smith, the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, will face a vote of confidence in his leadership that he’s widely expected not to survive. (For those of you looking for blogged coverage during the day, I recommend British Politics, Anthony Wells, Iain Murray and our own Matthew Turner. We’re yet to have [...]

I’ve added a new blog to the blogroll that has quickly become one of my favorites.
Col Lounsbury is a financier currently in Jordan, involved in Iraqi reconstruction. He’s a scathing critic of the administration’s efforts.
He’s quite bright, extremely knowledgable about Middle Easter culture and society. He’s also a delight to read, with a [...]

The Washington Post reports on:
Spreading Saudi Fundamentalism in U.S.
Network of Wahhabi Mosques, Schools, Web Sites Probed by FBI
“On Aug. 20, 2001, Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen, a man who would soon be named a minister of the Saudi government and put in charge of its two holy mosques, arrived in the United States to meet [...]

Gregg Easterbrook of the New Republic writes:
MOSCOW LOST THE COLD WAR, BUT DREAMS OF WINNING THE GLOBAL WARMING WAR: Why won’t Russia ratify the Kyoto Treaty? It would seem very much in Moscow’s interest to do so.
The United States has dropped out of Kyoto negotiations, but most other Western nations remain in. Russia now holds [...]

Bored? Think you’re an expert on EU matters? Then try the BBC’s Brussels Brainbuster quiz. OK, it’s just 10 multiple choice questions, not really a true brainbuster, but it should fill a minute or two of your time. You can even share your results with everyone else in the comments section - especially if you [...]

Tobias was apparently too modest to announce it here so I’ll do it for him: Almost A Diary is back online after a month of hosting troubles.
The new address is http://almostadiary.baldingwithgrace.de

And before anyone suggest it, this Russian advert is not going to be the new Fistful of Euros logo.
Any Russian speakers who can say what the text in the advert means?

Polls indicate Estonians will vote yes to EU accession tomorrow.
In Sweden, “polls give widely differing indications as to the likely outcome of the referendum.”
The Economist has a pretty decent primer on our referendum. (Via Crooked Timber)
International Herald Tribune reported yesterday enlargement seems to be bad news for African farmers::
For France the prospect of support from [...]

I finally got around to looking at the Guardian’s new campaign blog, KickAAS, which is dedicated to abolishing agricultural subsidies, certainly a laudable goal., and while I don’t know if it’ll be a regular read, it’s surprisingly non-boring. It’s also interesting as a phenomenon, especially for those buying into the hype on poli blogs.
Via their [...]