tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328Wed, 15 May 2013 18:46:56 +0000christianitysporteducationmediabollockstechnologyislamotherwalesdemocracyliberalismlawfeminismpoliticsimmigrationeconomyhumourfrancemusicjudaismarteurophilosophymiddle eastterrorismrights/ethicsliterature/comicsnorthern irelandracism/xenophobiasexfilm/TVitalyhomosexualitycatholicismgreeceukeuropereligionamericaelection2010healthlovesciencereligion, europe, democracy and ethics ... for liberal minds onlyhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)Blogger239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-7450588716089905913Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:11:00 +00002013-05-15T19:46:56.915+01:00immigrationpoliticsHere are links with research on immigration: The game changer? Immigration & the media http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/oana-romocea/immigration-the-game-changer-british-politics_b_3260594.html?utm_hp_ref=tw Migrants are net contributors: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/06/uk-benefits-eu-migrants-what-crisis http://notthetreasuryview.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2013/04/immigration-facts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-287907177240840266Sat, 06 Apr 2013 10:52:00 +00002013-04-06T11:52:05.253+01:00immigrationukracism/xenophobialiberalismrights/ethicspoliticsdemocracy I finally left the Liberal Democrats a few weeks ago, after Nick Clegg’s anti-immigration stance. This has really crossed the line for me.  I was supportive of the coalition in the first year and thought that many of the initial policies demonstrated responsibility and a liberal approach. Since then, the Liberal Democrats have acted as a fig leaf for catastrophic government policies. It is http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-lost-voice-of-liberalism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-658157828933635702Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:25:00 +00002013-03-05T20:26:06.980Zukracism/xenophobialiberalismrights/ethicspoliticsdemocracy My letter to Nick Clegg on the latest proposals on immigration. Dear Mr Clegg, I have read about the latest government proposals over benefits for immigrants and I am shocked that the Liberal Democrats do not seem to be opposing the changes. The whole debate on immigration has been dominated by negative and hateful rhetoric for many years. I have been living in the UK for over 15 years http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2013/03/immigration-mr-clegg-aint-so-bad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-828464039209505940Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:22:00 +00002013-02-27T08:22:51.218ZeuropeliberalismitalypoliticsdemocracyThe Italian election resulted in a deadlock with no clear winner. But while Italy is stuck between politics as usual and a sterile protest vote, the seeds of a ‘liberal revolution’ have discretely been sown. Could this mark the beginning of an Italian spring? Read my article here.http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2013/02/sowing-seeds-of-italian-spring.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1703476255409729292Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:50:00 +00002013-02-22T18:52:19.315ZeuropeitalypoliticsdemocracyAs Italy is heading to the polls on Sunday for ‘the most important election in 30 years’, the vote of Italians living abroad will partly determine the formation of the next government. How do these expats feel about Italian politics, and how are they going to vote? Read my Article on openDemocracyhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-italian-vote-for-italians-outside.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-7974626976709305359Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:53:00 +00002013-02-20T21:53:59.797ZeuropeitalypoliticsdemocracyeconomyIn November 2011, Mario Monti, an academic and former European Commissioner, was seen as the providential man to save Italy from its troubles. Now, only one year and a few months later, he is trailing behind in the polls and set to lose the upcoming elections. What happened? Here is my article on opendemocracy http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2013/02/mario-monti-power-democracy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-7695893134640681372Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:36:00 +00002012-10-08T13:40:09.341+01:00liberalismpoliticsdemocracyeconomyamericaThe Presidential Debate was shockingly bad. Obama was bad, but so was Romney, he just didn’t show it. He presented himself as a moderate and wooed the middle classes, but showed total lack of understanding for the economic system. We all agree that the middle classes have had a rough time. This has been going on for over 30 years, neither Romney nor Obama have taken the blame for both of theirhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/10/american-freedom-and-american-politics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-5417036849722687237Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:40:00 +00002012-06-15T16:40:00.512+01:00europegreecerights/ethicseuropoliticsdemocracy The unrelenting crisis in the eurozone is blamed on the abstruse architecture of the euro, which doomed the currency from its beginning. The Euro project has so far been a complacent leap forward without solid commitment from all its partners. Thus the eurozone lacks the political, fiscal and legal requirements to maintain a single currency. However, the financial crisis is perpetuated by the http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/06/belief-in-union-solidarity-with-greeks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-3833550628201593308Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:48:00 +00002012-06-15T16:34:02.262+01:00europegreecerights/ethicseuropolitics The copious analyses of costs and benefits of a Greek exit have barely touched on the human element, and completely neglected the moral one. The Greeks stand to lose all their savings, endure more cuts and see businesses go bust. It is predicted or, more precisely, imagined that the magic wand of devaluation will restore Greece to growth in just a few years. There is no question that the Greek http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/06/dignity-for-greece-and-europe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-8828010878702060776Tue, 15 May 2012 11:19:00 +00002012-06-15T16:36:32.805+01:00europeukliberalismeuropoliticsdemocracyeconomy Following the eurozone crisis on twitter is depressing. Journalists and market analysts take you on their rollercoaster ride, which has few peaks and many plunges. Any news is an opportunity to predict the worst case scenario: from #grexit (Greece’s exit from the euro) to #eurogeddon (you can guess that one). Journalists report the story making sure the full flavour of catastrophe gets to your http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/05/from-european-crisis-to-european.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1275433824117011491Fri, 11 May 2012 13:31:00 +00002012-05-11T14:31:31.815+01:00europeracism/xenophobiapoliticsdemocracy I’m not ecstatic about Hollande’s victory, but it might mean a more decisive move towards growth, which started back in March (partly as a result of Mario Monti’s push). Growth, however, is not given by spending per se. There is a difference between spending on all the things that western European states have been providing generously to people, and investment spending. We need to spend on http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/05/politics-we-need.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-4130944166348919791Fri, 11 May 2012 10:22:00 +00002012-05-15T12:22:37.108+01:00sexlawhomosexualityrights/ethicsreligionfeminism It’s not that I’m against gay marriage, I’m against marriage. I have nothing against people (of whatever sexual orientation) getting married religiously or wanting their relationship to be recognised publicly. What I don’t get is why the law should grant rights and privileges on the basis of a sexual relationship. I much prefer the now forgotten Italian proposals, whereby the rights and http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-marriage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1382894206965732041Sun, 06 May 2012 16:02:00 +00002012-05-06T17:02:57.999+01:00liberalismpoliticsdemocracyLast winter I was doing surveys around the ward to meet residents and find out what problems affected them. People were friendly and responsive. Then, the campaign started and everything changed. I had a first-hand experience of ‘anti-politics’. I picked up a significant dislike of the Lib Dems, which had nothing to do with specific policies, but a sense of betrayal. People wanted to protest. Ihttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/05/elections-are-so-last-century.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-8422348915132185442Fri, 04 May 2012 10:51:00 +00002012-05-04T16:10:03.711+01:00ukwalespoliticsdemocracyI expected to lose the elections, so I'm not at all surprised I did. The turnout was down to 32% (in my ward, Grangetown), which means 68% are not interested in local politics. The predictable results across Cardiff were more an opinion poll on the national government than a choice of representatives on the Council. Indeed, on the doorstep I had many people saying they liked what we've done in http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/05/trouble-with-democracy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-7777899032179436478Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:34:00 +00002012-02-23T19:35:35.714Zeuropewalesdemocracyeconomy(This is my speech in Council today on the Corporate Plan)"This is a good plan and shows awareness of the challenges in our city. It is fine as an internal document, but not so much as an external document, for people out there.There is something missing and that is politics. We shouldn't be afraid of politics because that is democracy. Democracy is going through tough times.So I urge you to http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/02/democracy-is-in-danger.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-2224737915887571942Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:31:00 +00002012-02-23T19:33:45.702Zwalespoliticsdemocracy(my budget speech in Cardiff Council today) The Lib Dem Executive and the officers of the Council have demonstrated that they can manage finances well at a difficult time. What I see across the benches is a game to reduce council tax to zero, no matter what that means for services. It is fascinating to see that other parties have bought into Angela Merkel's fetish for fiscal austerity. I http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/02/lib-dems-are-serious-about-tackling.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-3045951693386927768Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:41:00 +00002012-02-04T09:48:50.528Zlawhomosexualityrights/ethicsreligionchristianityamericaThe New York Times reports of a law case where a trainee counsellor, Julea Ward, asked for referral of clients seeking same-sex relationship advice on account of her Christian beliefs. Ms Ward claims that she doesn’t want to change her clients’ minds and behaviour, nor does she want to discriminate against homosexual clients. Indeed, she would ask for clients to be reassigned if there were http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2012/02/beliefs-counselling-homosexuality.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-2301381957255555663Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:22:00 +00002012-06-15T16:36:32.801+01:00euroIt is nation states that have emasculated European institutions. What is often branded as the ‘national interest’ is nothing but a justification for the pursuit of internal politics.  Day after day the financial markets have punished Europe for chronic indecision and cried out for a big bazooka to end the uncertainty. Economists have warned against rigid austerity measures that would make http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/12/rightwing-politics-of-national.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-2635813850233551216Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:02:00 +00002012-06-15T16:36:32.802+01:00europeliberalismeuropoliticsdemocracyeconomyYoung and clueless David Cameron went all the way to Brussels to ‘defend British interests’ and wave his veto to other European countries. In one stroke, he humiliated Britain and made her irrelevant. Cameron fought to retain British sovereignty, didn’t he? Nope, he waved his veto to protect financial services from regulation, the same financial services that got us into this mess. Now, I’m not http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/12/euro-sovereignty-and-capitalism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-6054804565700385812Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:05:00 +00002012-06-15T16:36:32.804+01:00europeukeurodemocracyeconomyIn the UK, there is the mistaken belief that the euro has a problem and that if the euro breaks up, it's a problem for countries in the eurozone. Wrong! The euro is a strong currency, it is countries in the eurozone that are the problem. For example, Greece has a structural deficit problem, which no amount of revenues from taxpayers can solve. Greece’s debt was a very small proportion of the EU’shttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/12/eurocrisis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1117927882396010062Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:30:00 +00002012-06-15T16:36:32.799+01:00europeeuroitalypoliticsdemocracyeconomyI’ve come across shrill articles about the financial crisis being an excuse, opportunity or, if you’re into conspiracies, a cunning plan to replace elected representatives with technocrats across Europe. This thinking seems to imply that there is someone planning, scheming and pulling strings … it’s a comforting thought, but I doubt there’s anyone in charge. Merkel is playing a dangerous game andhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/11/technocrats-of-europe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-9096657479838739422Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:16:00 +00002012-06-15T16:36:32.807+01:00europeeuropoliticseconomyThere’s a comforting story out there that the eurozone is in crisis because of countries such as Greece and Italy have huge deficits and that if they weren’t in the euro everything would be ok. Nonsense! The crisis started in the US … but let’s skip a few passages. The euro is a strong currency and it’s an international currency, which means any problems with it will impact on the rest of the http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/11/is-europe-about-to-crash.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-768282462322813466Thu, 05 May 2011 07:04:00 +00002011-05-05T08:04:52.462+01:00politicsdemocracyI’m very much against AV because I’m very much in favour of proportional representation. However, what the ‘yes’ lot and the ‘no’ lot forgot to ask is: ‘what is Parliament for?’. It might seem obvious but it really isn’t. At present, the ‘first past the post’ system means that we have 600+ elections, rather than one. The British electorate chooses a member to represent their constituency, not a http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-are-electoral-systems-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-5156983934941152660Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:36:00 +00002011-03-12T13:03:55.404Zsexhomosexualityukliberalismrights/ethicsreligionchristianityThe law courts are becoming the main arena where morality is discussed. It is regrettable because the law is a blunt instrument, which creates precedents and, therefore generalises a principle on the basis of single cases. It is also regrettable because morality is always in development and cannot be decided once and for all. The latest is a Christian couple who were turned down by the Council http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/03/fostering-homosexuality-christianity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-5353124949616065225Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:06:00 +00002011-03-11T10:06:00.950Zukrights/ethicsphilosophymediascienceLeave all hope, for thoughtful ethical discussion, ye who watch BBC documentaries. The documentary 23 Weeks Babies: The Price of Life is no exception. Director Adam Wishart, who ‘writes about science’, as he tells us, spends six months in a hospital where intensive care is given to babies of 23 weeks. Economics is today’s unquestioned paradigm, so it’s all about how much it costs. The ‘ethics’ ofhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2011/03/premature-births-nhs-money-and-ethics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Francesca E S Montemaggi)0