The recent state visit to Ireland by Czech President Vaclav Klaus constituted a remarkable deviation from European diplomatic norms when the irascible old Thatcherite cocked a snoop at Brian Cowen’s government by placing the Lisbon Treaty at the centre of his visit, and in the process, created a predictable media storm. In breaking just about […]
Matteo Salvini, the outspoken Lega Nord MP and activist (is there any other sort of Lega Nord MP?), has thundered indignantly about censorship to the national press. The reason? His facebook account has been suspended, without explanation. Salvini has vowed to take up the case with the minister for telecommunications, claiming that he’s received notice […]
Gathered in a studio simply as a functional exercise is the first plus here. Muzik Tarian Malaysia are bunch of borderline nomads of whom no-one expects to spend 8 months under the thumb of some metrosexual hot-shot with two million dollars as collateral, so in keeping with their uber secretive muse, a tune like Johore Sports Club serves […]
You probably wouldn’t pick one of Northern Ireland’s best known poets, academic – and traditional music enthusiast to boot – to be the novelist to have translated the spirit of the internet into book form. In Shamrock Tea (2001) though Ciaran Carson has, in my humble view, done exactly that – and there’s not a hint […]
Apropos of nothing really, except that there are dioxins in Irish pork, which Poles have been known to eat. On state newscaster’s website there is a FAQ list, from which I note that “sauces with pork/ham content” are not affected. What, no pork?
In the same week that Berlusconi’s much contested minister for education, Mariastella Gelmini, took a leaf out of Obama’s book and created a youtube channel to address students directly*, Silvio Berlusconi announced to the world that he would be seeking to sort out the internet at next year’s G8 summit which will be held (disgracefully […]
Every December one of the most important car shows in Italy – and perhaps Europe – takes place in Bologna. For two weeks the city’s transport system is put under ever-more pressure as car-crazy enthusiasts flock to the city to see the latest glitzy models (in the traditional and automobile sense) on display. Walking back […]
4th Estate celebrate their 25th birthday this year, and to mark it have produced a very nice film which reminds you of many of the great books they’ve published This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo. Some favourites here include Michael Chabon’s novels, Robert Fisk’s huge book on the middle east, and […]
Last week, seemingly against the odds, Vladimir Luxuria won the Italian reality-tv game show L’Isola dei Famosi (a type of ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’). What makes her victory worth discussing – outside of the tv pundity columns – is that she is a) transgender, and b) a former member of parliament […]