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"Axis Of Unity"
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have introduced a series of economic cooperation projects, announcing a grand "axis of unity" designed to "defeat the imperialism of North America."
Human Rights And Wrongs
Following on from yesterday's EURSOC post on how Britain seems to be the only country in the EU that applies European legislation in its entirety, The Sun runs a feature on the most prominent abuses of the European Human Rights Act.
Talking Italian
Italian food is good for you you. But only if it is made in Italy. This is the message from Rome.
Why The Left Loves The Tories
Are the emasculated Tories more than New Labour's faire-valoir?
David Cameron's "New Conservatives" have enjoyed an extended honeymoon among pundits in the left-wing media. Both the Guardian and the Independent have published approving coverage of Cameron's ecological initiatives and his determination to transform the nasty old Tories into a modern, caring equal opportunities party. Even the BBC has invited Conservative MPs on its discussion shows and treated them as (almost) human, rather than the marginalised oddities they were under previous leaders.
But the Tories, as a party, seem to be on their way out.
End Of The Road For "Jaws"
The world's hungriest man is suffering from a bout of "arthritic jaw". His name is Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi. He is, of course, from Japan.
Car Bomb Defused In London
London police say explosives experts have defused a car bomb containing gas cylinders in London's west end, close to Piccadilly Circus.
Witnesses said a car crashed in the area around 2AM: The driver was seen to run away, and people leaving a nightclub saw gas cylinders in the car. There are unconfirmed reports of six inch nails scattered around the vehicle, which would suggest the bomb was designed to cause a maximum of civilian casualties.
UPDATE: Police sources now say that the bomb was packed with 60 litres of oil, gas and nails: It would have caused "carnage" had it exploded, they say. "International elements" are believed to be behind the attempted terror attack.
Smoke With Fire
The ban on smoking in public places kicks off tomorrow in the UK. Here's Rod Liddle in the Times:
"I can’t decide if I hate this government more for invading Iraq or for stopping me from smoking when I go out of an evening."
He isn't happy...
We'll Always Have Paris
Had it *up to here* with coverage of Paris Hilton? Pity poor Mika Brzezinski, a presenter on MSNBC's Morning Joe news programme. Mika has become a heroine for real news junkies across the US for refusing to read a report of Ms Hilton's release from prison as the day's top story. Here's the video.
iPhone, Therefore iAm
The iPhone launches tonight in the United States. Around midnight GMT when the British are binge-drinking and the Spanish are just getting ready to go out, Apple fans across the pond will be getting their hands on the coolest, most hyped product of the 21st century.
Thing is, aren't Apple fans meant to be cool? I mean, Macs are evidently superior to PCs but a lot of that expensive ticket price is a premium on being the coolest in the school, isn't it?
So while Apple's share price has buoyed up on the media's frantic hyping of their new project, just take a look at these guys in the photo above. Fat. Hairy. Wearing shorts. Sporting - at least, it looks like it from here - a very German socks-n-sandals combo. There is a pool of water by his feet which suggests he is so eager to keep his spot in the queue, he has soiled himself rather than risk losing his place to go to the lavatory. Or perhaps he has simply marked his territory.
Russia Plants Flag In Arctic
Scientists, environmentalists and members of the international community are reeling after Moscow apparently broke with convention and made a land grab for a 460,000 square mile / 1.2 million square km oil-rich zone near the North Pole.
Russian scientists say that they have uncovered evidence which links its northern region with the North Pole via an underwater shelf.
Boot Britain Out Of EU - Giscard
Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing says that because Britain "no longer wishes to participate in the advances of European integration, we must draw the right conclusions (and) find a special status for Britain."
Quote Of The Day
"We can always pick faults but I note that Blair was elected three times in a row. His citizens trusted him. We would like to be trusted by ours the next time."
- François Hollande, Chairman of France's Socialist Party. From Charles Bremner's Blog in The Times.
Missing You Already
Boris is funny today:
"Sky News may be treating it like the funeral of Queen Victoria, but I am really feeling quite chipper about the political extinction of Tony Blair. Yes, I was going to say, there are some of us who are bearing up pretty well, on the whole, and there are some of us who can't think of a better fate for Tony than to be carted off to the Middle East. I was just about to launch into a polemic on these lines, when something happened on the television that caused the words to die on my lips.
"Suddenly my mood changed; suddenly I felt a sense of desolation and morosity that we had lost Tony Blair, and I can tell you the exact moment when I caught the bug and joined the national mourning. It was the moment Gordon Brown opened his mouth, and, with every word he uttered, the mercury of my mood started to sink and the clouds rolled in.
"Of course, it was partly a question of style. It was after only a few seconds of Gordonian gurning and grunting that I felt almost suffocated by the earnestness of his utterance. There was such a grimness, such a solemnity, that I instantly missed Tony's gift for catching the taste of the moment, for the joky self-deprecation, for the combination of passion with a sense of optimism and uplift."
On His Way Out
EURSOC's US correspondent Chris Timmers has bad news for John McCain.
Further confirmation that the US Senator from Arizona is pretty much finished: in a letter to contributors earlier this month, John McCain pleaded, "I urgently need your help before June 30." Why the end of June? Because in the week immediately following, candidates must file their quarterly campaign finance reports, as required by US law. Voters and pundits alike will see that McCain's contributions have continued to plummet. It's a vicous, downward spiral: the less money you take in, the less people give. The less you have, the fewer radio spots, TV ads, mailings, etc. you can afford. Which means you take in fewer dollars. Which means...your goose is eventually cooked.
Quote Of The Day
"A low point in the history of European democracy
"He concedes a new framework for Europe's government and then races overnight to the Vatican to consult the Pope. He tosses his seals of office to an acolyte and goes on to the Holy Land to continue his bloodthirsty crusade against the infidel. Is Blair auditioning for Charlemagne?"
- Simon Jenkins on Tony Blair's departure in the Guardian. Jenkins writes on how Britain deserves a referendum on the EU Constitution. Read it all, but some selected quotes come after the break...
PM Brown Promises Change
Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised an era of change in his first speech. Speaking after the short journey between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, he said that in his travels around Britain, he had listened of to calls for change.
He said that his 'new government with new priorities" would work to renew the National Health Service and address the issue of affordable housing would be major issues.
In what seemed like a deliberate break with his predecessor, he said he would restore trust in government. There was also a criticism implicit in his declaration that British people were calling for change.
Blair's Flawed Legacy
Blairism comes into perspective: Radical, ideological, extreme
It was once said that outgoing British prime-minister Tony Blair was like a cushion, always reflecting the imprint of the last person who sat on him. Not quite fair, some would say because he has, over his ten years in office, displayed quite a flair for sticking to his own brand of controversial policies to the end. The cushion metaphor, however, goes some way to demonstrating the frustration of dealing with, putting up with or defining Blair, the arch bamboozler.
Blair’s legacy is one of huge confusion both to his detractors and supporters alike.
Regime Change
Blair era ends
Tony Blair steps down as Britain's Prime Minister today, bringing to an end a decade of rule. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown will be asked to form a government later today, after the PM hands his seals of government to the Queen.
By 15.00 GMT today, Britain will have a new Prime Minister.
Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Blair?
Danish Socialist Eurosceptic Jens-Peter Bonde has been talking about the new agreement on the Treaty Formerly Known As The EU Constitution.
Britain's Tony Blair claims the agreement differs so much from the original text that it does not merit a referendum. Seems he one of the few Europhiles who think so. Mr Bonde has kindly rounded up some alternative voices within the EU, from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs:
"We have savaged 99 %" - Alexander Stubb, Finnish conservative, co-coordinator of the biggest political group in the European Parliament (EPP-ED). Bonde asked what the 1 percent was. "The name," Stubb replied.
"We kept the substance of the Constitution." - Jo Leinen, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee (Party of European Socialists PSE)
"We have the same thing, but we regressed for transparency and clearness." - Enrique Barón Crespo (PSE)
"It's incredible to see all what they slipped under the carpet!" - Gérard Onesta (VERTS/ALE)
More after the break...
When In Rome...
Two very different invasions of the Eternal City in the press today. The Guardian has a report on how Roma people from Romania have moved to Rome (phew) in their thousands. Some have found council housing, others live in shacks - though one family of fourteen was discovered in an ancient Roman cistern.
Chavez: "Prepare For War"
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has told his army to prepare for a "guerilla war" against the US, whom he claims could try to invade the oil-rich country.
Blair: "Referendum Sucks"
Tony Blair, who steps down as British Prime Minister tomorrow, has described as "completely and utterly absurd" opposition demands for a referendum on The Treaty Formerly Known As The EU Constitution.
Unfortunately for him - or more likely, his successor Gordon Brown - other EU governments are crowing that the new treaty is more or less identical to the rejected document. Blair's Labour Party made a referendum on the Constitution a manifesto promise in the 2005 general election.
Who Has This Kind Of Effect On Women (And Men?)
When the BBC is right, it's very, very right indeed: Here are a couple of Irish girls enjoying the broadcaster's flagship show, Doctor Who. It's been named the "Whogasm."
Blair Off To Save The World
Tony Blair steps down as Prime Minister this week. It is reported that he will shortly take up a new job as International Peace Envoy to the Middle East.
In Your Sites
The Sunday Times published a commendable article on how the government's teaching advisers are planning new cross-curricular lessons which to replace traditional academic studies. The study of hard physics and the periodic table, it claims, could be replaced with month long projects on global warming and "curriculum dimensions" based around themes of "creativity, cultural understanding and diversity."
"This GCSE (examination) will remove Britain’s technological base within a decade," comments one senior teacher.
No Bums On The Beach
Signs at the entrance to Beach 134, in Riccone on the Adriatic coast, say "No Men".
Quote Of The Day
"9/11 was a wake-up call for young Muslims." - a 24-year-old programme scheduler in a London media company, telling the International Herald Tribune why she wears the niqab.
The IHT ran a feature on attitudes to the full body covering favoured by increasing numbers of Muslim women in the UK and noted that traditionally tolerant Brits are becoming increasingly vocal in their opposition to the costume.
Rudy Grinds On
I know this must appear to be repetitive and boringly endless, but I feel compelled, as your US observer, to bring you up to date on the latest trends...which haven't really changed much.
A Very European Coup
“The people have forfeited the confidence of the government”
Well, the conference to plan the Treaty Formerly Known As The Constitution ended on Saturday morning amid much smiles, a few recriminations, and some head-scratching as to the impact of the various concessions surrendered and gained.
Britain's Tony Blair claimed he had secured the "red lines" he pledged to defend. However, Gordon Brown, who takes over his job next week, has more than a few worries on his plate. A last minute manoeuvre by France's Nicolas Sarkozy stripped the EU of its stated committment to free and undistorted trade. For many Britons, this is one of the EU's few selling points. Indeed, one could argue that Europe's "Common Market" is the only aspect of European unity that the British had ever signed up for - and now it's gone.
Sarkozy Wins Blair Support
LATEST: France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has presented the removal of a reference to "free and undistorted competition" in the EU Constitution as a victory for France.
He claims that Britain's Tony Blair has given his full support for the change, which Sarkozy argues was required in order to defuse French voters' concerns that the Constitution was a liberal plot.
Americans Hit The (Wine) Bottle
Sacre bleu! The United States is about to become the world's biggest wine consuming nation, overtaking France by 2010
It's hard to believe that in the 1920s America experimented with Prohibition. Coming up on a century later, French wine consumption is tumbling while Americans are drinking more.
Not In Clooney's Back Yard
George's place
George Clooney has joined the NIMBY brigade. The actor usually lives like a recluse in his home on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, but has made a public appeal opposing a €12 million development next door to his Villa Oleandra.
Don't worry George, if the car park and bridge development drive you out of the Villa Oleandra, EURSOC will take it off your hands at a knock-down price.
Constitution Round-Up
Poles mention The War, Britain talks tough, Sarkozy makes illiberal edit
Yesterday there was hope that because Poland had sent the more emollient of the Kaczynski twins to the intergovernmental conference, a deal on voting rights was more likely. Observers had underestimated the Polish President and PM's determination on this issue, however: Kaczynski was barely off the plane before he argued that because Poland lost so many people in the Second World War, its voting weight in the EU should be based on what its population would have been if the war never happened, rather than its current 38 million.
Charter Rights And Wrongs
Tony Blair hopes to secure a British opt-out from the European Charter of Fundamental Rights at today's EU Constitution negotiations. The government believes that the charter could overturn numerous labour market reforms. The Independent, in another of its drama queen front covers, wheels out a list of 'experts' who warn that the government is trying to "block these rights" for the British people.
It's odd to see an anti-West fanatic among those arguing that Britain should sign up to European human rights.
Blair To Convert To Catholicism
British PM to look to Rome for spiritual blessing
It comes as a surprise to see Tony Blair's reportedly imminent conversion to Catholicism hitting the headlines in the British Press: Roman Catholicism is hardly a controversial religion in Britain. Nevertheless, the PM, who has been attending Catholic Mass for over a decade, appears to be awaiting the end of his premiership before completing his conversion.
Constitution Day
The governmental conference to lay out a "road map" for the new EU Constitution began today.
The BBC last night bought - or is trying to sell - the German line that the EU has dropped the idea of a Constitution, and that really we shouldn't bother our little heads about the whole business (see pic). Tony Blair, however, was limbering up for the conference by telling newspapers he was ready to walk away rather than agree to a deal which would cross his four "red lines."
Rushdie: UK Responds
As more angry Muslims burn effigies of author Sir Salman Rushdie, senior British cabinet figures have spoken out in an effort to soothe tensions provoked by the author's knighthood.
Roswell Sixty
Next month sees the sixtieth anniversary of what UFO-watchers worldwide know as the "Roswell incident" - when an alien spaceship was supposed to have crashed in the New Mexico desert.
Knickers In A Twist
The Independent's hysteria continues. While every other newspaper carries a report on how women's underwear designer Joseph Corre has returned his MBE in protest against Tony Blair's "corrupt morality", The Indie has the story screaming from its FRONT PAGE.
The newspaper's decision to make a campaign of every issue and a manifesto of every front page was always hugely tiresome and is now totally absurd: The Independent has become the drama queen of the British press.
Mr Corre's Agent Provocateur business partner Serena Rees was apparently delighted with her award.
The Other Woman
The French blogosphere buzzes with the name of the journalist Socialist leader François Hollande is rumoured to be having an affair with
Once upon a time, French voters were kept in the dark about their leaders' affairs. Some members of the elite might have argued the public liked it that way, preferring discretion over the Anglo-Saxon kiss-and-tell tradition - while all the time the restaurants and cafés frequented by the political and media classes rang with gossip about who was having an affair with whom.
The internet has put an end to that. On Sunday, Ségolène Royal announced that she had booted her partner of 29 years out of the house, adding that he was free to enjoy his romantic life alone. The press tentatively reported that Hollande was having an affair... but with whom?
Rushdie: Iran Blames Queen
The government of Iran has announced that it considers the United Kingdom's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, "responsible", for a knighthood awarded to the author Sir Salman Rushdie. One Iranian newspaper described the Queen as "an old crone."
Constitution Capers
Britain's Tony Blair and Gordon Brown hold a frenzied bout of telephone diplomacy with France's Nicolas Sarkozy; the President of the European Commission insults the Brits; and Conservative leader David Cameron hopes everyone will ignore his links with Angie Merkel.
Things are heating before tomorrow's intergovernmental conference designed to come up with a blueprint for the European Constitution, Version 2.0.
Walking The Walk
President Nicolas Sarkozy brought thirteen new junior ministers into his cabinet yesterday. While rival parties talk the talk about fighting discrimination and promoting minorities, Sarkozy prefers to let his appointments do the talking.
Several of the new ministers are from what Britons would call "diversity-friendly" backgrounds: They represent a wider range of political views than most opponents would welcome in their cabinet, too.
UK Workers Do It Right
From the FT
As EU Constitution talks try to bring British workers under the the protection of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, perhaps European workers would be better served by receiving the same rights as their comrades in Britain. A new survey by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm, shows that the minimum wage in Britain is one of the highest in the EU - and only a tiny proportion of Brits are on the minimum level.
Sail Away
It is a sad fate for a grand old lady. The world's most famous ocean liner, the Queen Elizabeth 2, will end her life in Dubai, in the Middle East.
BlackBerry Ban For French Govt
French ministers are hopping mad because their national security agency has banned the use of BlackBerry handheld email devices, warning that the US could intercept French state secrets.
As BlackBerry mail servers are located in the US and Britain, security officials fear that sensitive information could be hacked by rival spies. Meanwhile in Britain, MPs are going to be allowed to bring their BlackBerries into the House of Commons.
Rushdie Row Heats Up
Muslim anger over the Knighthood awarded to novelist Sir Salman Rushdie has intensified, with protests by Islamic groups in Britain, Iran and Pakistan.
On Monday, a minister in the Pakistani government declared that the award justified suicide bomb attacks.
Red Lines (Don't Do It)
Today's papers list Tony Blair's latest "non-negotiable points" for the revised EU Constitution. While Blair is happy to go along with a European President and Foreign Secretary, he has drawn red lines under the following points. EURSOC suggests readers print this list and keep it handy as the negotiations continue.
— Britain will not accept a treaty that allowed the charter of fundamental rights to change UK law in any way
— Britain would not agree to “something that displaces the role of British foreign policy and our foreign minister”
— Britain “will not agree to give up our ability to control our common law and judicial and police system”
— Britain “will not agree to anything that moves to qualified majority voting something that can have a big say in our own tax and benefits system”
Love Europe, Not The EU
Fine stuff from the always-good-value Mick Hume in today's Times. Hume isn't easily pigeonholed - he's a self-described Libertarian Marxist, and there ain't many of those around - but he is spot on on the changing relationship between the people of Europe and their EU masters.
Quote Of The Day II
"Who will look after the Party?"
- the front page of left-wing French newspaper Libération, responding to the Hollande-Royal split. The headline adapts Socialist Party "dinosaur" Laurent Fabius' sneer "who will look after the children"?" when Ségolène Royal declared her candidacy for the Presidency last year.
Royal is expected to challenge Hollande for the post of Socialist Party Chairman.
Quote Of The Day
"You're telling me Ségo is single? I'm moving to France, she is my kind of Milf!"
- EURSOC reader Davros, responding to the news that Ségolène Royal and her partner of 29 years François Hollande have split.
Does Brown Dare?
Sources close to Britain's PM-in-waiting Gordon Brown are hinting that if he doesn't get a favourable deal on the European Constitution, he will order a referendum.
Minister for Europe and Brown supporter Geoff Hoon reportedly said that Brown would call a poll if he opposed the treaty: Brown confidants told the Telegraph that Hoon's analysis was "sensible."
UPDATE: Europeans want referenda on the new treaty, opinion polls suggest. Click more for further information.
London Calling
"How many people sit down with the travel brochures every year and think, "This year, for our summer holidays, let's go somewhere really multicultural and green"? - Jeremy Clarkson, in the Sunday Times
A new cost of living study shows London comes second only to Moscow as the most expensive city in the world.
Royal Family Split
France's leading "power couple" - Ségolène Royal and her partner, Socialist Party leader François Hollande - are no more, it was reported in French newspapers today.
Royal is said to have asked Hollande to leave the family home. Mme Royal reportedly told the authors of a book on her failed Presidential campaign to no longer refer to Hollande as her partner, "because that is no longer the case." She added that he has her blessing to continue his sentimental affairs elsewhere. M Hollande (and Ségo herself) were the subject of much political gossip in the run-up to May's election.
Success For Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy gets his mandate for change in France's parliamentary elections; majority smaller than expected
President Sarokozy's UMP won 314 seats in the 577-member National Assembly; the rival Socialist Party (PS) won 185. Other centre-left groups bring the PS up to around 207 seats; Sarkozy's allies number around 340.
The result is well below opinion poll predictions last week. Pollsters expected Sarkozy to win up to an incredible 500 seats, while Socialists were braced to be wiped off the map with only around 100. Some elements of the British press are already claiming Sarkozy's "honeymoon is over."
US: Two New Developments
EURSOC's US correspondent Chris Timmers has more on the election run-up
You may have already heard, but there is a growing sentiment among some in the Democratic party here in America to get Al Gore in as a Presidential candidate for the 2008 election. That, by itself, is somewhat old news. But a new twist has been added: Al Gore should choose as his running mate Senator Barak Obama, the current number two man in the Democratic party race behind Mrs Clinton.
President Blair
Strangest story in a weekend full of unusual events was the report that President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged Tony Blair to go for the job of President of the European Council.
Sleight Of Hand
The German Chancellor warns of "extremely serious consequences" if there is no deal on the revised EU Constitution
Angela Merkel has published her first report on the state of play in negotiations for the new EU Constitution. She discusses areas where agreement is close, but also highlights those parts of the treaty where strong disagreements remain. Despite the fact that the EU hasn't ground to a standstill in the two years since the Constitution was rejected by voters in France and Holland, she warns of grave danger if negotiations do not progress.
Festival Time Again
Just as thousands of disgusting hippies head off for the Glastonbury Festival, here's a quote from the editor of the brilliant Spiked Online, interviewing right-wing writer James Delingpole:
"A right-winger in New Casual wear is telling a libertarian Marxist in a suit about the joys of a muddy music festival, and the libertarian Marxist can only think to himself: I would rather remove my eyeballs with a rusty teaspoon than spend a week in a camp surrounded by barbed wire with 100,000 lazy hippies. I think I glimpsed the meaninglessness of the left/right divide there in Delingpole’s kitchen."
Chavez Floats His Boats
Venezuela's President plans a £500 million deal with Russia to buy five submarines
Hugo Chavez continues his bid to be "Irritant of the Year 2007" with a deal with Moscow which would see at least five and up to nine Soviet-era submarines patrolling Venezuela's oil-rich ocean shelf.
The Other National Sport Of Italy
Now you know how Italians can afford to look so damn good all the time in those fine clothes: Dodging income tax is a national sport.
The Telegraph reports today that one-fifth of Italy's GDP is lost in unpaid taxes: "A quarter of Italians claim that their salary is only £4,000 (€6,000 / $7850) a year, while the residents of Milan, one of the richest cities in Europe, claimed average salaries of just £5,400 (€8000 / $10,630)."
PM Romano Prodi has launched a crackdown, calling the level of tax dodging "indecent."
Russia Clarifies Missiles Stance
Russia scales down threat as NATO discusses southern Europe shield and Azeris ponder
Newspapers are reporting today that Russia has "backed down" from its "Cold War brinksmanship" and declared that it won't, after all, be targeting its nuclear weapons at European cities: "Only" those places in Poland and the Czech Republic where the US missile defence shield will be located.
Show Me The Money!
EURSOC's new US correspondent Chris Timmers reports on campaign financing
Take a guess, and make it large, as to what George W. Bush and John Kerry spent on the 2004 US Presidential election. Try this: Dubya burned through $367 million; John Kerry spent $328 million (in a losing effort). That's $695 million for the two principal candidates and I'm not counting what the challengers to Bush and Kerry spent. $695 million was more than the Gross National Product of the United States in 1950. (Source: US Department of Commerce, GNP 1929 - 2006) Wow...them's some bucks.
China's Name Game
With more than a billion people sharing little more than 100 surnames, Chinese authorities have a problem differentiating, for instance, between the 1.3 million people called Liu Bo.
British Immigration Customs
The British perspective on immigration gets a government-inspired overhaul
More evidence that immigration is fast becoming Europe's hot topic (again). Britain's Independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion has reported its findings nearly two years after the 7 July terror attacks which inspired its creation.
According to the 168-page report, Britons should be supplied with "myth-busting" information packs about immigrant newcomers, while politicians should be bound by the Race Relations law from making "inflammatory statements" about immigration.
The Immigration Game
Sarkozy cracks down, Dutch grant amnesty, Brussels wants governments to loosen rules for EU workers
Immigration is in the headlines again in Europe today, as two new governments outline very different policies to deal with the influx of people into western Europe.
In the Netherlands, the parliament voted to overturn former immigration minister Rita Verdonk's policy that 30,000 illegal immigrants who arrived in the country before 2001 be deported.
Socialists Find A Hook
France's beleaguered Socialist Party has finally found a policy to rally voters for the final round of the Parliamentary elections on Sunday. Socialist leaders reacted with glee when Prime Minister François Fillon remarked that he might need to raise VAT (TVA in France) five points to 24.6 percent to pay for a reduction in other taxes.
The Socialist Party (PS) promptly ordered thousands of election posters emblazoned with the slogan "Vote against 24.6 percent TVA", due to be delivered today.
Writing The Constitution
As we reported earlier this week, PM-in-waiting Gordon Brown has much to fear from the current EU Constitution negotiations.
How does Gordon propose to ensure he doesn't enter Number 10 in early July to find his political death warrant waiting in his inbox? According to The Sun, he's going to try his hand in writing the Constitution.
25 Years Later
Baroness Thatcher gave a speech praising Britain's armed forces to mark the 25th anniversary of victory in the Falklands War.
You can listen to the speech here, and there is a full version after the cut that we filched from The Thatcher Foundation.
How things change. As Margaret Thatcher explains that fortune really does favour the brave, Guido reports that Gordon Brown was in Iraq telling troops that they were going to get lower-than-inflation pay rise.
Blue Wave, Brown Tide
Why can't the Tories learn from Sarkozy?
The Telegraph's veteran commentator Simon Heffer thinks that Gordon Brown is likely to make mincemeat of Britain's new policy-lite Conservative Party, unless David Cameron's team buck their ideas up a lot.
After a couple of weeks soaking up sun and pastis in the South of France, The Heff has a solution to Tory travails: Nicolas Sarkozy.
Belgian Apologises For "Sozzled Sarko" Clip
Almost a week after bloggers and YouTube viewers began passing round that clip of a refreshed-looking Nicolas Sarkozy, the mainstream media is getting in on the act.
On The Election Trail
EURSOC's US correspondent Chris Timmers has more from US Elections
On the Republican side we see that after helping write - in cooperation with Senator Ted Kennedy - the disastrous immigration “reform” bill, John McCain’s stock has continued to decline. While he is still #2 in most polls, behind Guiliani and ahead of Romney, my prediction is that he will be out of the picture as a contender by late fall of this year.
Weee Rule
As of next month, Britain must recycle all electrical waste, including TVs, computers, lights and toys, under the European Union's 'Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive', code-named, 'Weee'.
Sarkozy Soaked
Here's President Nicolas Sarkozy making his first press conference at the G8 Summit, immediately following a meeting with Vladmir Putin. Sarkozy is a well-known teetotaller, but it seems that the President might have been at the vodka this time. Is Sarko drunk?
Cliffhanger
Just as HBO's drama The Sopranos left its audience guessing right up to the last minute, the saga of another bunch of crooks is drawing to a close across the Atlantic - with a similiarly puzzling finale.
Tony Blair steps down as Prime Minister at the end of June; Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown takes over a few days later. But, as EURSOC reported three weeks ago and the mainstream press is only realising now, Blair has saddled his old rival with a trap that mobster boss Tony Soprano would be proud of.
Islam And The Intellectuals
If you have an hour or ten to kill, you might want to take a look at Paul Berman's extended essay on Islamist intellectual Tariq Ramadan in The New Republic.
TNR requires that you register (free) to read this interesting piece. Readers of John Rosenthal's work in The Transatlantic Intelligencer and elsewhere will be familiar with much of Ramadan's background; Berman's analysis of Ramadan's western apologists (and critics, who include President Nicolas Sarkozy) is fascinating.
Where Are The Awkward Squad?
British artist David Hockney has railed against the smoking ban set to come into force in England in July. Speaking at an exhibition of watercolours by JWM Turner which he has curated, Hockney listed distinguished artists and smokers who "didn't have dreary people telling them what to do."
An Albanian Welcome
President George W Bush has one constituency where they love him more than any borough in the United States.
It is Tirana.
The US Elections To Date
EURSOC's new US correspondent Chris Timmers has a round-up and analysis of the latest polls for the Presidential Election: Even though the polls are holding relatively steady, voters are still intrigued by the possibility that one or more "big hitters" might be ready to enter the fray.
Chris reports that history favours governors rather than senators in the Presidential race, and has a look at why this might be the case. Click more to read his post!
For Better, For Worse
Europe's richer regions are getting fed up with paying for their poorer neighbours, the Guardian reports.
School Politics
A think tank claims that British schools are replacing traditional learning with "fashionable causes"
The report, The Corruption of the Curriculum, claims that "he traditional subject areas have been hi-jacked to promote fashionable causes such as gender awareness, the environment and anti-racism, while teachers are expected to help to achieve the government's social goals instead of imparting a body of academic knowledge to their students."
The End Of FranceAfrique?
The changing of the guard at France's Presidential Elysée Palace comes at a time of immense geopolitical change. Nicolas Sarkozy's May 6 victory speech declared that France would enter a new era in its relations with African nations, one in which Paris would not necessarily seek to entrench French influence at the expense of human rights.
French Presidents have seen French-speaking Africa - or FranceAfrique - as the nation's backyard. To shore up French influence on the continent, diplomats have backed dictatorships ranging from clumsy to unspeakable with Paris bankrolls, French military might and soft influence in the United Nations, where France is a permanent member of the Security Council.
Sarkozy wants a new era. Africa's dictators would doubtless tremble in their palaces, if the new President was discussing a new policy, rather than acknowledging that most African despots have already moved on from France and are now accepting tributes from China.
Sarkozy's Blue Wave
Sunday's parliamentary elections in France are expected to deliver a thumping majority in favour of new President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Just in case EURSOC readers think that we've forgotten about Sarkozy, we haven't: A collection of features and observations on his first month in power have been gathered in our new feature The Media Gap. Just click on Sarkozy's portrait for a list.
However, apart from naming his cabinet choices, there isn't a great deal that Sarkozy has been able to do in France: That has to wait until he secures a parliamentary majority.
Putin Calls Bush Bluff
Russian President suggests joint missile base
Some of the tension between Vladimir Putin and other G8 leaders was defused overnight when the Russian President suggested that the US and Russia should share a site for the proposed missile defence system.
An Englishman's Cellar Is His Castle
British Conservative MP Boris Johnson was horrified to discover that Britain is considering printing health warnings on bottles of wine. A fiendish Brussels plot, he thought, preparing to write a furious column for the Telegraph.
However, some rudimentary research (a call to the EU Health commission) revealed that the idea originated not in the bowels of Brussels, but in Britain's own health ministry. Boris nearly choked on his Chambertin.
The European Exodus
If Europe is so great, why are so many Europeans leaving?
Europe is a continent of migrants. This was always so: Its geography, as a fertile, temperate peninsula sandwiched between desert and arctic; its history, torn by war for a millennium; and then a haven of relative peace and prosperity in the shadow of Soviet totalitarianism and African colonial struggles saw to that.
People have always left Europe, too, fleeing poverty, famine, then Nazi or Communist oppression. But for fifty years, Europe has been a continent people migrated to, rather than from. Now, however, there are disturbing reports that hundreds of thousands of Europeans are leaving the continent. What's more, they tend to be its most educated and dynamic people.
Beware The Chinese Tooth Fairy
The Chinese toothpaste scare that has forced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to scramble to check imports of dentifrice from the People's Republic, has now spread to Canada.
Registers & Deportations
Human rights groups attack French expulsions policy; UK warns terrorists they will be put on a "register"
Two different approaches to the problem of terror supporters in the papers today. The IHT reports that Human Rights Watch is unhappy with how France boots out troublesome preachers, who may face torture in their home countries. Meanwhile in Britain, terrorists will doubtless be trembling in their boots to hear that anyone found guilty of a terrorist act or a terrorist-related offence will be put on a special register.
Nanny Out Of The Dining Room
Yes! Hot on the heels of the government's scheme to target "middle class wine drinkers", Sarah Vine has a spot-on rant:
"The pernicious new Puritanism (is) slowly squeezing the life and soul out of Britain. Ye gods, as my grandmother used to say, almost all the middle classes have left is their glass of wine in the evening. That bottle of organic Pech-Latt (£6.49 from Ocado, very reasonable and actually extremely drinkable) is the equivalent of the 19th-century factory worker’s shot of gin. Because let’s face it, this Government is doing its best to make our lives about as miserable as any pox-raddled Hogarthian whore’s. Utter the word “middle class” in Whitehall and watch their greedy little pimps’ eyes light up with pound signs. Behold the British middle-classes – a docile, law-abiding army of tax slaves. Hurrah, let’s blow it all on some more social workers in Newcastle."
It's Just A Jump To The Left...
There's a devastating attack on private equity firms in the British media today. Describing private equity as "locusts" - the notorious language of far-left European demagogues - it criticises Chancellor Gordon Brown's low-tax regime for allowing British workers and their pensions to be at the mercy of "people in sharply-cut suits behind closed doors".
The tax relief granted to private equity - up to £4.5 billion last year - should be snatched back and redistributed, it concludes.
Where did this wide-ranging attack appear? The Guardian? The New Statesman? The BBC?
Brits Put Mohammed First
Here's one to think about for Britain Day: Muhammad, or variations on the name, is likely to be the most popular name for baby boys in Britain next year. According to a report, the name of Islam's prophet is already the second most popular for British newborns.
Chavez Eyes Last Opposition Channel
Here's a story from Reporters Sans Frontières on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's threat to close the last remaining oppositon broadcaster in the country.
Don't Bother
The Telegraph asks what sort of United Kingdom would be celebrated by the Labour government's reportedly planned "Britain Day."
Most of us aren't fussed, the newspaper concludes. We have vague ideas of Elgar's music, fish and chips and World War Two heroism, but we would hate the idea of being told what to do on Britain Day. It's just not British to be bullied into some sort of choreographed North Korean flag-waving demonstration.
End Of The Affair
Reuters reports that a woman and three men have been shot dead in a Pakistani village after tribal elders found them guilty of adultery.
Sarkozy And Israel
In a speech to the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, Armand Laferrere said that Nicolas Sarkozy's Presidency will represent a strong change for the better for French foreign policy, particularly where Israel is concerned.
EURSOC has the full text: Click more to read this fascinating insight into the Sarkozy team's thinking on the Middle East and France's place in the world.
Cleaned Out
Belgian media reports that EU bureaucrats faked cleaning contracts in order to siphon off money
Eta Ends Ceasefire
Spanish terrorist group ETA has declared that its ceasefire will end tomorrow. Spain's security forces have been put on alert for a big attack by the Basque separatist group, who claim that the government of Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has responded to its ceasefire with "with arrests, torture and persecution."
Quote Of The Day II
"I still prefer Tony Blair."
- Margaret Thatcher, on being asked what she thought of new Conservative leader David Cameron. Via Andrew Sullivan
London Puts On A Spread
There were blushes at the BBC yesterday as the channel's news programme broadcast a viewer's rather risque design for the London 2012 Olympics logo.
The official Olympic logo was greeted with derision, so the Beeb called on its viewers to come up with alternatives. One viewer, artist Sean Stayte, came up with an image he described as Britain's "hands pulling together to reveal the Olympics."
Unfortunately, the image (above) was a clever tribute to notorious sicko site Goatse.
Cover Up Or Die
Women working on a Palestinian television station have been warned that they risk being beheaded if they do not wear strict Islamic dress, the Telegraph and The Times report.
Quote Of The Day
"A quarter of British Muslims think the British authorities were involved with staging the 7/7 bombings, reports Channel 4 News. “It’s a worrying picture that suggests a significant minority of British Muslims are alienated from the government and the security services,” it adds.
"Well, that’s one way of putting it. Another would be to say that a quarter of British Muslims are stupid enough to believe a disgusting conspiracy theory.
"Moreover, 68 per cent believe that their community doesn’t bear any responsibility for the emergence of extremists willing to attack UK targets.
"And why would they believe that, I wonder?
"Possibly because the ideology of multiculturalism – still being vigorously preached by the BBC and its legislative arm, the Government – tells them so."
- Damian Thompson, on his fantastic blog in the Daily Telegraph.
Wide-Bodied Jets
A court in India has ruled against a group of female flight attendants who were grounded from the national airline for being overweight.
Putin Missile Crisis
I've got a new toy too
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that if the proposed US "Missile Shield" of eastern and central Europe goes ahead, Moscow might respond by aiming nuclear missiles at European cities for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
Another Vine Mess
Ségolène Royal is positioning herself for Socialist Party leadership after Sunday's forthcoming elections, but another member of her family has put herself in an even more unusual position. On Friday, Ségolène's cousin, Anne-Christine Royal, chained herself by the ankle to a vine to show her solidarity with the troubled winemakers of Cadillac-en-Fronsadais.
iPhone: iWant
US customers can finally get their paws on Apple's lush new iPhone on June 29. Apple has published three new ads for the iPhone on its website, and while EURSOC understand ads are there to make products look cool, these advertisements make it look stunning.
Bring Me Your Poor, Huddled Smokers
The Observer reports that the European Union is considering a proposal to ban smokers from gathering outdoors to enjoy a puff. A paper viewed by the newspaper says, "as well as a ban on lighting up in all workplaces and public buildings across Europe: 'Restrictions could also be extended to outdoor areas around entrances to buildings and possibly to other outdoor public places where people sit or stand in immediate proximity to each other, such as open air stadiums and entertainment venues, bus shelters, train platforms etc.'"
Quote Of The Day
"When is he getting over the cerebral palsy?"
- a US health insurance representative to the parents of a child with the condition, whose previous insurer had refused to pay for treatment that could help their child to walk. The Hilsabeck family, who sold their home and moved into a trailer to pay for healthcare, were told they were "on their own" when they explained to the representative that, er, cerebral palsy wasn't the sort of illness you get over.
From The Independent, in a feature linked to Michael Moore's new film, Sicko.
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Japan's single women are being offered the ultimate sleeping partner. A comfort to cuddle with, but which does not snore, smoke, grab all the blankets or make demands to go to the kitchen in the middle of the night.
Baby You Can Drive My Car
The Love Bug
Volkswagen is Europe's largest carmaker. Now it is renowned for something completely different. According to revelations by Germany's mass-circulation newspaper, 'Bild', six prostitutes are to reveal all about a "love nest" operated by VW executives.