tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:31:28 +0000The notes of Tomáš Ruta, a Czech and a European in Yorkshirehttp://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)Blogger53125TheVoiceOfEuropehttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4783519164139814966Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:47:00 +00002008-12-01T03:06:18.588ZHey guys,I haven't posted anything for well over a year, without ever writing a proper farewell-to-blogging note. That is mainly because I never actually assumed a blogger identity. In other words, I was never immersed in the blogosphere and blogged furiously just for the sake of it. So one day I stopped posting and that was it. The reason I am writing this post is that people have been http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2008/12/no-more-blog-posts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-8407898702798364581Sat, 07 Jul 2007 18:33:00 +00002007-07-07T17:45:00.476ZYouTubeFranceGermanyRussia1) Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy2) Gerhard Schröder3) Vladimir Vladimirovich Putinhttp://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-3-politicians-songs-on-youtube.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4822307981666801618Sat, 07 Jul 2007 00:14:00 +00002007-07-07T23:50:45.502ZPolandFootballRussiaFirst of all, let me warn you: this time it's going to get personal. Unlikely as it may sound, I used to be quite a footballer when I was younger. I played for Slovan Liberec, the only Czech team to claim the league title twice after 1990 except of Sparta Prague. Our famous post-2000 moments include trashing AC Milan 2:1 or wiping out the floor with Olympique Lyon 4:0. Because I was lucky enough http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/07/fifa-bulgarian-capital-is-just-east-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4513481827744756651Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:41:00 +00002007-07-06T09:12:42.626ZUSABalkansThe article "Serbia owed justice in Kosovo" appeared in The Japan Times on Monday. I could not possibly agree more with the writer: Serbs are no villains and Kosovo should remain Serbian.Here are some good points made by Gregory Clark, the author; but if you can, try to read the whole thing.1) 1 million of Serbs were killed by the Croats and Bosnian Muslims, who sided with the Nazis, in WWII.2) http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/07/serbia-owed-justice-in-kosovo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4401224411651661824Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:43:00 +00002007-07-05T16:43:31.067ZYouTubeEuropean UnionMiddle EastOn Friday the Hamas al-Aqsa TV aired the last episode of its controversial children's show, "The Pioneers of Tomorrow". The star of the programme is Farfour, a Mickey Mouse lookalike who talks like Osama bin Laden. I already wrote about the earlier episode in which Farfour was reprimanded for using the English language.In the scene above, Farfour's grandfather hands him a key and what is http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/07/jihad-mickey-killed-off-by-hamas-tv.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4567547196839261081Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:45:00 +00002007-06-27T06:18:49.102ZBritainThough Brown's Cabinet will have to do without some "talents", the new prime minister has a lot to choose from on his own benches.Don't think so? Try to put together your own Cabinet; the comments from the experts from the Fisburn Hedges consultancy are rather spot on! I bet Iain Dale is pretty close with his predictions.Hat tip: Daniel Finkelstein. http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/choose-your-browns-cabinet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-5873261469014972939Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:32:00 +00002007-06-26T01:24:26.608ZBritainThe petition to back Tony Blair's decision to honour Salman Rushdie with a knighthood is finally on the 10 Downing Street website. It was submitted by Daniel Finkelstein, The Times chief comment editor; I wrote about it few days ago.Here is the wording of the petition again:"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to accept our congratulations for recommending to the Queen that Salman http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/support-sir-salman-now-is-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-6544236726927317672Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:12:00 +00002007-06-24T01:05:38.890ZUSALil' Bush: Resident of the United States is a new cartoon on the US Comedy Central channel. Essential viewing for anyone who cannot kick back without politics.Wikipedia provides a good review of the programme:"Lil' Bush takes place in an alternate reality version of modern times, where George H.W. Bush is president and George W. Bush ("Lil' Bush" on the show) as well as other major modern http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/lil-bush-resident-of-united-states.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-472317140216573947Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:13:00 +00002007-06-23T07:26:19.991ZCzechiaThe Economist's Edward Lucas complains about the dullness of political leaders in the post-communist space (again). The Czech president Václav Klaus is anything but dull, though admittedly he does not make a good listener:"Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic, by contrast, is exactly the same whether you have known him for ten minutes or 20 years: abrasive, forceful,well-informed and magnificently http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/vclav-klaus-better-listener-after-all.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-7923100009317851178Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:03:00 +00002007-07-07T23:44:24.802ZBritainFranceEuropean UnionGermanyThe French delegation apparently managed to had changed the Reform Treaty's draft without anyone noticing, even though the document was circulated by the German Presidency on Tuesday. The clause "The Union shall establish an internal market where competition is free and undistorted", which was in the original Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (Article I-3 (2)), was replaced by "The http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/whatever-happened-to-single-market.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-6840630901712754582Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:21:00 +00002007-06-23T07:25:00.203ZBritainEuropean UnionBlogosphereNumber 10 Downing Street refers to the "EU Commission President Javier Solano" in a news item on its website. Just how did that happen?(For those who don't happen to be EU geeks: Javier Solana is the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Commission President is José Manuel Durão Barroso.)There is some excellent reporting on the ongoing European Council summithttp://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/who-is-javier-solano-and-whatever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-7723302098861505439Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:32:00 +00002007-06-21T02:20:08.126ZBritainSalman Rushdie was awarded a knighthood on Saturday. Britain's decision to honour Rushdie enraged the Islamic world; the harshest disapproval came from Pakistan and Iran. The Muslim protests reminded the world of the storm which followed after the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran pronounced a fatwa (death sentence) on Rushdie over alleged blasphemies against Islam in his iconic 1988 novelhttp://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/support-sir-salman.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4373026971387071789Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:45:00 +00002007-06-21T03:12:14.789ZInternationalBlogosphereForeign Policy has published its annual Failed States Index. Sudan tops the list, closely followed by Iraq, Somalia, Zimbabwe and Chad.There are three European countries in top 60: Moldova (48th place), Belarus (51st) and Bosnia (54th). The aspiring NATO member Georgia is on 58th place.By the way, my friend Ecaterina Sanalatii has just started blogging for Transitions Online on Moldova, check it http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/failed-states-index-2007.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-4659044315270376368Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:27:00 +00002007-06-18T19:54:14.934ZBritainYouTubeEuropean UnionCzechiaThe British Labour Party (now with its own channel on YouTube) is in the process of choosing the new party leadership. Gordon Brown is to become the new party leader unchallenged, as the Blairites did not manage to persuade David Miliband to run.Brown is now touring the country with his "Gordon Brown for Britain" campaign, trying to build up a momentum before the start of his premiership. http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/labour-party-deputy-leadership.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-2796337338036981153Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:12:00 +00002007-06-15T19:35:45.652ZYouTubeUSADon't expect any serious analysis of the 2008 presidential race. The excuse for posting this music video featuring a hot girl "who's got a crush on Obama" is that it's already been viewed by over half a million people on YouTube. Compare that to the popularity of an average broadcast on Obama's official YouTube channel, usually seen by mere 3000 people. The voters simply prefer to hear it from http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/obama-girl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-2275959426738950147Thu, 14 Jun 2007 02:02:00 +00002007-06-14T02:51:39.278ZBritainEuropean UnionBlogosphereThe Charlemagne column in last week's edition of The Economist complained about the static intellectual debate in Brussels. The think tanks there are apparently too dependent on the Commission's funding to come up with bold, challenging ideas. That certainly isn't true about London, where think tanks churn out radical proposals which often make it to parties' election manifestos.New Statesman http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/fifty-ideas-for-browns-britain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-6688199797249475549Wed, 13 Jun 2007 03:48:00 +00002007-06-13T05:12:20.517ZBritainEuropean UnionI almost choked on my cornflakes when I read the paper this morning. Except I didn't because I read news online. And as I am sure my readers are dying to know, I don't usually have cornflakes for breakfast! But it just sounded as such a cool way to start a post with. I am a fast learner.Anyway, to the point. The Daily Telegraph, a staunchly Eurosceptical outlet, published a comment piece http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/daily-telegraph-goes-pro-european.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-6876079879717043288Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:52:00 +00002007-06-15T19:37:07.116ZYouTubeUSABalkansYet another soon-to-be-famous YouTube moment. 300 000 people so far have watched George Bush being stripped off his watch by the crowd of cheering Albanians in the village of Fushe Kruja.The excited villagers tried to shake Bush's hand or at least touch him, while chanting "Bushie, Bushie". As Bush re-emerged from the crowd, it was clearly visible that his watch was missing. According to the http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-albanians-steal-bushs-watch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-1398113699119263375Tue, 12 Jun 2007 03:50:00 +00002007-06-12T15:29:40.191ZUSAInternationalChinaThere is a superb debate on this perennial issue on Gideon Rachman's brilliant blog. Rachman is the chief foreign affairs commentator of The Financial Times and served as the Asia correspondent in the early 90s, so he has got a firm grip of the subject."The reason that China will eventually be the world's largest economy is that its population is roughly four times that of the United States. http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/will-china-overtake-america.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-6028402891273425041Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:01:00 +00002007-07-07T23:50:45.502ZUSABalkansChinaRussiaGeorge Bush visited Albania yesterday. His visit was an apparent gesture aimed at boosting the Albanian confidence prior to concluding the final deal on the future status of Kosovo.He outlined his "strategy" for resolving the stalemate: "One, that we need to get moving. And two, that the end result is independence. And we spent a lot of time talking about this issue, here." Bush said he does not http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/unsc-resolution-1244-on-kosovo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-3729948094597414282Fri, 08 Jun 2007 22:47:00 +00002007-06-09T13:20:11.987ZUSAPolandFalwell, the outspoken leader of America's religious right, died last month. Now he is looking down from the heavenly heights and I bet he is pleased with the recent Polish authorities' decision to examine whether Tinky Winky, a character from the BBC's show for children, is not promoting homosexuality. Falwell himself launched an attack on embattled Tinky Winky 8 years ago: "He is purple - the http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/remembering-jerry-falwell-tinky-winky.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-1327117536391039939Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:19:00 +00002007-06-07T14:53:49.776ZEuropean UnionA 16-strong Action Committee for European Democracy, the so called "Amato Group", published its draft of a new EU treaty on Monday 4 June. The Committee, which is not an official body and consisted of "private citizens", started its work in September 2006. The document's rationale is desribed here (3 pages); explanatory memorandum is available here (6 pages). The Committee's work is also http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/amato-group-gives-eu-constitution.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-8828900620154479740Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:56:00 +00002007-07-07T23:50:45.503ZUSACzechiaRussiaAir Force One with George and Laura Bush aboard landed at the Prague Ruzyně airport yesterday. Bush has come to broker a deal on the controversial US radar base to be located in the Brdy mountains. But I don't intend to write about the radar and the relations with Russia. I will just say that I am in favour of hosting the base.I am here to highlight the effort (still searching for a suitable http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/czech-defence-minister-records-song-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-8278749795666844626Sat, 19 May 2007 22:37:00 +00002007-06-15T19:37:07.117ZYouTubeMiddle EastThat's who we are up against. Hard to disagree with what George Bush said right after 9/11: "This crusade, this war on terrorism is gonna take a while."http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/05/mickey-mouse-on-hamas-tv_19.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30329641.post-1005161015573819286Thu, 17 May 2007 00:52:00 +00002007-05-17T11:26:11.289ZEuropean UnionThe EUobserver reports that Angela Merkel "voiced regret there will be no reference to Christian roots in the revised EU treaty". May I express my utmost sympathy for Frau Merkel. No, really, I mean it. Although my Facebook profile describes my religious views as "devout atheist", I would sincerely welcome a mention of God in the EU Constitution.European culture is based on Roman law, Greek http://thevoiceofeurope.blogspot.com/2007/05/reference-to-god-in-eu-constitution.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tomáš Ruta)8