Month: July 2022

Pope Criticized Over Hong Kong

Pope Francis, in his attempt at perfecting the art of the deal, might soon learn that endless compromise with Beijing will guarantee Catholicism’s demise. 

Stagflation Alert!

There are three reasons why stagflation is happening. The most compelling evidence is in some unique data that economists often ignore.

NATO 2.0 Appoints New General to Europe

Plunged in what looks to be a new cold war, NATO has been making a flurry of manoeuvres, of which the general’s appointment is only the latest.

EU Commission Warns of Social Strife This Winter

Frans Timmermans, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, said that making people suffer this winter in order to stay on track with the energy transition would ultimately be disastrous for solving ‘the climate crisis.’

Germany: First Export Deficit Since 1991

Germany’s economy has been relying on an export surplus for decades, but exploding energy prices, in combination with a rigid transformation to renewable energies, has caused imports to exceed exports in value for the first time in more than 30 years.

EU Discusses Block-Wide Energy Windfall Taxes

The EU Commission did not initially propose a block-wide policy, but two months later, both the commission and the new Czechia presidency are ready to consider options for an EU-wide windfall tax strategy.

Les Droites en Amérique

Continetti’s history of the first hundred years of the American right holds lessons for the next hundred.

Is the Eiffel Tower in Danger?

The situation may not be dramatic, but the #saccageparis movement has revealed that trust has long been broken with the Paris city authorities on heritage preservation.

Spain’s New Law of Historical Memory

Spain’s New Law of Historical Memory

Rejecting the Franco-era state to this degree, however, implies rejecting the political reform that led to the current democratic constitution. Indeed, some analysts suspect this is partly the law’s intent.

EU Parliament Gives Gas and Nuclear ‘Green’ Status

EU Parliament Gives Gas and Nuclear ‘Green’ Status

For hard-core environmentalists and countries that have already weighted their energy production away from both gas and nuclear, the taxonomy is considered ‘greenwashing.’

July 7, 2022
VOX is Afraid, and so is the Electorate:<br>Reflections on the Andalusian Election

VOX is Afraid, and so is the Electorate:<br>Reflections on the Andalusian Election

In Andalusia, VOX was not really working to expand its electorate. It simply reinforced its existing messaging, retained its basic brand, and preserved its core voter base. In this way, it hoped to secure a coalition with the PP and avoid “stealing” too many votes, which might have divided the Right in parliament.

Germany: New Law Allows Gender Change Once a Year

Germany: New Law Allows Gender Change Once a Year

Germany proposed a new law that will allow everybody aged 14 or older to change their gender and first name with a simple visit to the registry office.

July 7, 2022
Two Senior Resignations Threaten to Crash Johnson’s Premiership

Two Senior Resignations Threaten to Crash Johnson’s Premiership

Yet again, Prime Minister Boris Johnson finds himself in trouble. After a fresh scandal—involving predatory sexual misbehaviour and a Tory

July 7, 2022
Dutch Farmers Subdued but Still Defiant

Dutch Farmers Subdued but Still Defiant

Monday’s protest, during which a policeman fired two shots at a tractor, marks the latest escalation in an ongoing contest of wills.

MEPs Attempt to Ban Pro-Life Lobbyists from EU Parliament

MEPs Attempt to Ban Pro-Life Lobbyists from EU Parliament

Margarita de la Pisa Carrión noted that the request to remove pro-life lobbyists was based on the assumption that abortion is a fundamental human right, though it has never been enshrined as such in European law.

July 6, 2022
June: The Month of Romanticism!

June: The Month of Romanticism!

June, then, is a time of taking stock of the wonderful inheritance that those who stand for the Good, the True, and the Beautiful have been given.

Rampages and the Pitfalls of Moralism

Rampages and the Pitfalls of Moralism

Three rampages by mentally ill people over the course of 48 hours shocked Germany last month, but the lax treatment of even the clinically psychotic may be symptomatic of a deeper societal crisis.

July 6, 2022
Will the EU’s attempts to reduce geostrategic dependencies on semiconductor production backfire?

Will the EU’s attempts to reduce geostrategic dependencies on semiconductor production backfire?

The EU wants to reduce its dependence on imported semiconductors and has announced a new major spending programme: the so-called “Chips Act.”

July 6, 2022
Polish Government Torn Over EU Funding

Polish Government Torn Over EU Funding

Some political opponents of the Polish prime minister did not see this granting of EU funds as good news; indeed, they consider that it places the country in a dangerous dependency.

Russian Pranksters Call European Mayors

Russian Pranksters Call European Mayors

A Russian comedy duo continues to dupe Western politicians and celebrities with prank calls in which they pretend to be either Vitaly Klychko or Volodymyr Zelensky. This raises questions about the quality of security at some of the EU’s highest offices.

July 6, 2022