Concrete Achievements

Author: Anthony Zacharzewski

  • Links from the week of 17 May 2021

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Also: people expect more of the EU that it can do; don’t remember that Hungary *still*…

    Also: people expect more of the EU that it can do; don’t remember that Hungary *still* has a veto on all foreign policy action; don’t like that you have to start by expressing concern before you can do anything else. twitter.com/melissakchan/s…

    It’s entirely possible that EU will be too weak on Belarus. But it doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing look the same at this point – expressing serious concern, demanding explanations etc.

    It’s also entirely possible that antidemocratic governments like Hungary’s will veto a strong position it’s further evidence of Orban’s unfitness for office, and the burning need to abolish foreign policy vetoes.

  • Stumbled across a Cambridge University computing service newsletter from 1994 and it’s…

    Stumbled across a Cambridge University computing service newsletter from 1994 and it’s both an instant flashback to my undergraduate days *and* like reading runic inscriptions about Odin: webtools.csx.cam.ac.uk/cs/newsletter/…

    “The Power Macintosh, offering up to four times the power of the fastest 68040 machine (up to ten times for applications that use floating point calculations), is now available. … Apple are holding a Roadshow at the University Arms Hotel on 4, 5 and 6 May.”

    “Magnetic Tapes have formed an integral and essential part of the storage and movement of data for users of Phoenix for many years, but … today, networks are commonly used to move data between computers,
    which makes the transfer both easier and swifter.”

    “It is regretted that, despite previous requests for restraint, complaints about noise caused by people playing computer games have continued. Accordingly, the use of the Public Workstation Facility (PWF) for recreational purposes is no longer permitted.”

    “At the moment Pine is the recommended Mail User Agent on both the Central Unix System and Hermes. If you are still using the mail command on the CUS to compose, send or receive electronic messages you might want to change to Pine, which is menu driven and easy to use.”

    (I miss PINE).

  • Links from the week of 10 May 2021

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Labour chasing anti immigrant voters?

    Labour chasing anti immigrant voters? twitter.com/paulwaugh/stat…

    Video on Twitter

    Is Brexit not enough? Destroying economic and social ties with our continent not enough. No, of course Brexit is not enough *because nothing will ever be enough*.

    If you chase after populists, you will become a populist, and people will vote for the real thing not the copy. (Juncker’s comment from a few years back, still true except in the case of the Tories where they cannibalised the far right. But Labour can’t do that.

  • Links from the week of 3 May 2021

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Links from the week of 26 April 2021

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Links from the week of 19 April 2021

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • More on Belgium #4regions in @lesoir tonight

    More on Belgium #4regions in @lesoir tonight: plus.lesoir.be/367939/article…

    There isn’t an answer that doesn’t have inherent problems – with #4regions there will have to be a federal level, there will have to be inter-entity co-operation on culture, education and other things.

    Then the questions of cash arise again – not just the question of tax revenue across entities, but also solidarity between regions. Will a move away from inter-regional solidarity be overtaken by increasing EU fiscal consolidation? #4regions

    My unexamined gut feel is in favour of smaller entities with high solidarity, combined with a federal level that’s powerful on strategy and rule setting but doesn’t deliver much – combined with multilingualism in politics and public services.

    But the state reform more than anything is about balancing different political priorities rather than technocratically perfect solutions. That’s why it’s interesting that the proposals start from a citizen engagement exercise.

  • Woke up to the trailer on @lapremiere: « Remember David Cameron?

    Woke up to the trailer on @lapremiere: « Remember David Cameron? The former British prime minister who launched the Brexit referendum because he was sure he would win? He’s back in the news because of a lobbying scandal – find out what happened to him at 0720 ». Can’t wait 😐

    Ten minutes of having David Cameron’s greatest hits played back to me by Belgian radio and I’m quite glad they’ve moved on to reviewing the latest Lucky Luke comic book.

    From Dodgy Dave to Lucky Luke (they didn’t say)