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The cellar in my old house has reached a wall temperature of 20 degrees. For the first time in 28 years, it is actually warm. My local climate has changed – does such climate drying warn of future human disaster, or is this too far-fetched? 13/08/2018. The climate change ‘is […]

Brussels, 12/06/2018. The Civil Liberties committee of the European Parliament (LIBE) has called on the EU Commission to suspend the EU/US Privacy Shield agreement on data exchange of personal data, since this (relatively new) agreement still fails to provide sufficient data protection for EU citizens. Privacy Shield should be suspended […]

          Goodbye to the quiet, pleasant suburb that once was Headington (Oxford). I had to laugh at the Oxford Mail’s puff piece of the time (4th January 2016) for the new Barton Park (Oxford) development and its “waterfront” villas. The only waterfront will be the expanded […]

Brussels, 03/05/2018. I went to a press conference yesterday. In the Brussels Press Club, it promised to be interesting. Apparently the nuclear-limitation agreement between Iran and the rest of the world is due to expire in nine days time. Tick-Tock, the conference was called. Should the agreement be extended? ‘Salvaged’ […]

Update, 06/02/2019. Sometimes, truth needs friends – the latest EU Greens/EFA whistleblower-protection campaign as the EU legislation grinds its way through the EU Council and Parliament. See: Brussels, 18/04/2018. The European Commission is expected to propose a new EU-wide whistleblower-protection law within the week. The proposed regulation is an attempt […]

– being a compilation of instant, sometimes off-the-cuff reactions to the day-to-day Brexit saga ……   EU Parliament plenary approves post-Brexit visa waiver for UK nationals 04/04/2019 Update. The full European Parliament, with 502 votes to 81 and 29 abstentions, today backed the draft EU law exempting UK citizens from […]

Brussels, 31/01/2018. ACEM’s ‘Sustainable motorcycling in Europe’ conference last week in Brussels was a fascinating blend between the usual Brussels EU conference (suits, eurocrats, industry execs, etc.) and what has traditionally been seen as a niche pursuit (riding motorcycles). ACEM’s aim (representing as it does the motorcycle manufacturers) is of […]

      Why Brexit is the right future for the EU, as well as for Britain (in my humble opinion). Brussels, 17/12/2017. It would be unnatural not to have doubts about the wisdom of Brexit. The news reports play a daily tune on the latest setback or political difficulty, […]

    Why is it that my country is so poor? I ask myself this question after listening to the latest set of economic and social problems emerging on today’s BBC Radio 4. Of course doom and gloom in the news is everyday ordinary (it is the journalist’s bread and […]

      – being a compilation of instant, sometimes off-the-cuff reactions to day-to-day reportings ……     Sajid Javid – Britain’s next Prime Minister? 04/06/2018. Very interesting to hear UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid today on BBC Radio 4. With the BBC these days being such an obvious government […]