On Thursday, the Parliament voted on a new agreement on the transfer of EU air passengers’ personal data to the US authorities. The deal sets legal conditions and covers issues such as storage periods, use, data protection safeguards and administrative and judicial redress, and replaces a provisional deal in place since 2007.
The EU-US Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement was adopted with 409 votes in favour, 226 against and 33 abstentions, with two-thirds of the ALDE MEPs taking part voting against due to concerns over data protection safeguards, including rapporteur Sophie in’T Veld (D’66, Netherlands, ALDE), who withdrew her name …
That is “the first rule of politics” in the sense of the “first rule of comedy, Spike” catchphrase in the late lamented David Croft’s Hi de Hi.
In this case, the rule I am thinking of is:
Always book a venue slightly too small for your expected audience. That way the room/hall will seem full and vibrant.
LibDems love to repeat the story of the agent who put out one chair for a meeting. Three people arrived. The agent brought in two extra chairs from the next room, then released a statement to the press about the meeting saying:
Extra chairs had to be brought in.
It says something about the cack-handedness of Mitt Romney’s US Republican nomination campaign that he can obviously learn a thing or two from the humblest agent.
The Democrat National Committee have put together this video of a rather disastrous Mitt Romney “rally” in Detroit, Michigan.
It’s worth watching this video all the way through for the priceless comment from an incredulous political pundit at the end.
The 2012 US Presidential race is certainly going to be interesting. That’s for sure. There is no end of permutations, twists and turns ahead which will make very entertaining viewing for us over this side of the pond.
Every time you make a statement about the election, there are caveats and “but ifs” which follow.
It’s tempting to say that Obama is sunk because of the US economy. However, there are strong signs now of a solid recovery. Last week’s job news was very positive and polls are showing a thawing of anti-Obama feeling.
In the New York Times, Michael D Shear reports that the influence of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party has waned during the US Republican Presidential primaries:
In October, Sarah Palin announced that she would not run for president in 2012, ending the media frenzy around her potential candidacy even as she vowed to remain politically active and influential.
“I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets,” she wrote in an e-mail to her supporters.
Just over three months later her attempts to wield influence in the presidential campaign the way she did during the 2010 midterm elections have
Recently Sheffield Hallam student Richard O’Dwyer lost his court case against extradition to the USA for running a website that provided links to websites where users could illegally pirate copyrighted TV material. He will be lodging an appeal with the High Court and he cannot be extradited without the specific permission of the Home Secretary Theresa May.
Richard’s actions were not a crime in the UK because his website did not host the files but rather hosted links to the websites that did host the files, like Google does. Quite simply, it goes against the terms of the Extradition Treaty …
Last November’s contest has dragged on, primarily as a result of a protracted legal battle in closely fought Minnesota. Last week, however, incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman finally abandoned his legal suit after the State’s Supreme Court found unanimously in favour of Democrat Al Franken, the liberal former radio talk show host and author of ‘Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right’. Franken is becoming adept at getting his way in the Courts, Fox News having failed in their bid to sue him for …
Tristan Ward "A true national liberal party
I do not see how a "true national liberal party" can be solely based on social liberalism - such a party can be only half a li...
Stephen Robinson We may wish to have a clear and distinctive policy on the subject. But we shouldn't proactively be talking about it. For the same reason as we were wrong to get...
nigel hunter Trump now backsliding on his Patriot licencing deal with Ukraine after a phone call to Putin. He bends to Putin's will on regular occasions. His choosing winne...
Jason Connor I actually agree with Jana and also very much with Neil.
Margaret Thatcher gets blamed for so many things. Other parties, particularly Labour when in power,...
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The Joy of Six 1556
Westminister needs to tackle its drinking culture
Tristan Ward 
Stephen Robinson 
Tom Arms 
nigel hunter 
Jason Connor 