Monthly Archives: February 2013

The democratic deficit in action

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Matt

I’ve always suspected that the European Commission was something of an elite outfit.  But in the last two weeks,  I’ve been granted an unexpected firsthand insight into the Commission’s commitment to democratic debate. This somewhat bizarre episode began a couple … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Iraq: The Liberal Combat Team is Back

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Matt

‘It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation,’ General William Tecumseh Sherman once declared, when looking back on the American … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, UK politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Spain’s New Picaresque

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Matt

When the scandal broke out in Germany last week of neo-Nazi security guards working in an Amazon warehouse, I was interested to note how many of the bullied migrant workers there were Spaniards. One of them was a Spanish art teacher in her … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of austerity | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Leicester Cultural Exchanges Festival

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Matt

I’m in Leicester on Tuesday, appearing at De Montfort University’s Cultural Exchanges Festival,  with a talk on my book Blood and Faith: the Purging of Muslim Spain. It starts at 4 p.m and lasts for an hour, including discussion and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment