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There Goes The Neighbourhood

By
EURSOC Two

Paris council and new owners clash over landmark building


The Hôtel Lambert has a claim to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Paris. Built between 1639 and 1644 by architect Louis le Vau, it dominates the eastern end of the picturesque Ile-St-Louis.
 
Since gaining status as an historical monument in the 19th century, it has become the best-known of Paris' grand hôtels particuliers. Generations of Parisians have enjoyed the view of the building from the Quai d'Anjou and Pont de Sully, all the more because of the knowledge that successive owners of the building have respected its architectural integrity. Experts say that the Hôtel Lambert's interior is practically unchanged since the days when Voltaire and his lover the Marquise du Châtelet stayed there, or when the Polish prince Czartoryski held salons attended by George Sand, Frédéric Chopin, Honoré de Balzac and Franz Liszt. 
 
Up to the year before last, it was owned by the Rothschild banking family: Guy de Rothschild's soirées became almost as famous as those of the Polish Prince. Rothschild sold the Hôtel Lambert to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani - family of the Emir of Qatar - in 2007 for a tidy €80 million.
 
And now, Parisian society is horrified by the Arab Prince's plans to convert the ancient building into a residence suitable for his needs. Mayor Bertrand Delanöe has reportedly blocked the Prince's plans for his Paris "Pad". Thanks to the importance of the Hotel to the architectural fabric of the city, the dossier has gone straight to the desk of France's minister of culture.
 
One architectural critic has complained that the redesign will leave the Hôtel Lambert as a "monstrosity with the aesthetics of a James bond villa." 


Also in this issue:

A Reliable Partner?

By
EURSOC Two

Europe feels the Big Chill as Russia cuts its gas supply


We may be in the grip of a global-warming defying winter, but Europe's plight hasn't moved Moscow. Wires are reporting that Russia has cut gas supplies running through Ukraine to Europe in response to claims that Ukraine is "stealing gas" and has failed to pay bills for its supply.
 
Bulgaria and Macedonia have reported their supplies cut completely, with Bulgaria reporting that it has only enough gas for a few days; Romania is reporting a 75 percent fall in gas. Greece and Turkey are also finding gas supplies cut, with Turkey claiming that all its supply via Ukraine has been disrupted. Austria's energy company has reported supplies at only ten percent of expected levels. The Ukrainian state company has reported that Germany, Poland and Hungary can also expect reduced supplies.
 
The Bulgarian government has advised its citizens to avoid using gas to heat their homes for the time being. However, as the BBC's weather pages do not expect daytime temperatures to rise above -3 celsius (26.5 F) in the capital Sofia over the next week, their pleas may fall on deaf ears. (Night temperatures are expected to fall below -14 C , 6.8 F.) 
 
The European Union has responded angrily as commentators have cast doubts on Russia's reliability as an energy partner. 

Toujours Sarkozy

By
EURSOC Three

To celebrate the start of New Year 2009, two important transatlantic publications have lauded French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the hilt. (Various sound-and-vision media, world-wide, have performed much the same act).

‘The Economist’ magazine ran two high-praise tributes in its Christmas bumper issue. ‘Time’ magazine followed in its respected annual ‘Person of The Year’ number (formerly known as ‘Man of The Year’ number) by placing the leader of France as runner-up to their first choice of Obama, with a gushing essay by Tony Blair, complete with a stylish portrait of Nicola and Carla taken by distinguished rock star photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Right Under Your Bed

By
EURSOC Two

Is there a right wing extremist under your bed? asks Iain Dale. Chance would be a fine thing. Iain was tipped off about Google Ads placed by Britain's Metropolitan Police on a series of right-of-centre blogs in the UK.

The French police are chasing a cell of left-wing saboteurs accused of bringing the TGV rail system to a standstill; they fear that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could spread to the streets of Europe. Other nations worry that Muslim hardliners plan terror attacks on western targets. The rioting in Athens, led by anarchists and far-left extremists, took a deadly turn this week when a police guard was attacked with a Kalashnikov and a hand grenade. These riots have already spread to Barcelona and many commentators are concerned that as the economic downturn continues, similar violence from hard-left and anti-capitalist groups could happen in other European cities.

Meanwhile, the British police are pursuing the spectre of "far-right extremism."

Nice to know where their priorities lie.

Link to Iain Dale's story:

http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/01/is-there-right-wing-extremist-under.html 

The Coming Insurrection

By
EURSOC Two

You've heard of that "anarchists bible", The Coming Insurrection, which advises would-be revolutionaries on how to battle against the state by fair means or foul - and which has the French authorities in such a tizzy?

It was published anonymously in Paris by a dodgy far-left group calling themselves "the Invisible Committee"; it has been linked to the "Tarnac 9", a group of middle-class rebels living in a commune in rural France, who have been arrested in connection with sabotage against France's high-speed rail lines. The French government has identified it as part of the mosaic which suggests that France and the rest of western Europe will follow Greece into riots, far-left terrorism and anarchy as the economic crisis deepens. It must be hot stuff: Either the French state is allowing itself to be carried away with its own paranoia, or there must be more to it than the usual "smash the state" gibberish which emanates regularly from France's infantile extreme-left.

Read it at 

http://tarnac9.wordpress.com/texts/the-coming-insurrection/

 

Getting Hot In Here...

By
EURSOC Two

Gunmen in Athens seriously wound an police officer guarding the culture ministry. Police told reporters that an AK-47 Kalashnikov and a hand grenade were used in the attack.

Anti-Smoking Nazis

By
EURSOC Two

For some reason our video embedding isn't working but if you care to visit England Expects, there is a hilarious video on how anti-smoking authoritarians plan to disrupt a conference which hopes to undermine the passive smoking consensus.

You can also watch the video here. 

No-Thank-YouTube

By
EURSOC Two

The unstoppable rise of online video continues, making it likely to be one of the success stories of 2009... except for the European Union's EU Tube service. The video network, which is funded by the Commission's £200 million communications budget, has tanked with the internet generation.

According to research carried out by Open Europe, out of a population of 500 million people (plus, of course, the billions living outside Europe who might well be interested in goings-on here - User "gayaussie" doesn't sound like an EU citizen) fewer than 8,000 people have subscribed to the channel.

While it boasts around 1,900,000 views*, Open Europe notes that some videos are watched by only a few dozen people.

The Land Of The Free?

By
EURSOC Two

France and Britain grant refuge to very different characters...  

The UK's international status as a safe haven for extremists is only one of the more depressing aspects of living in this country.

Britain, famously, teems with extremist preachers who rail against the nation while enjoying both the benefits of its welfare state and its human rights protection against extradition to other states where police may be eager to speak to them in relation to serious offences.

The Truth About Cats And Dogs

By
EURSOC Two

Dissident "liberal fundamentalist" (and one of the best columnists in Britain) Rod Liddle is interviewed by the Independent today. Times columnist, former editor of the BBC's Today show and Millwall fan Liddle is in the unusual position of belonging to the media elite while also understanding something of the concerns of the average Joe: Who else would come up with a line like this?

"I used to be called a racist. I did a piece for The Spectator two years ago about a golden crescent* in London from which we are ruled and where for example immigration means a cheaper plumber, a cheaper nanny, and a couple of nice shops on the high street. That's not the reality for most people I know. Immigration for them means they are no longer plumbers, because they are priced out of the market, it means there's violence on the streets, it means their neighbourhood has been changed beyond recognition. I don't see that it's wrong or racist to point that out."

Children Of The Sixties

By
EURSOC Two

There's nothing sentimental about Peter Hitchens' Christmas message in the Mail...

The Sixties revolution, which destroyed the authority of parents and teachers alike, will soon reach its long-cherished goal.

Everything stuffy, traditional, repressive, old-fashioned and boring has been swept away in the world of the young. They are all free now.

The trouble is that they do not know how to be free, because they have also been taught that morals are ‘judgmental’, religion is ‘outdated’ and that adults are just obsolete ex-teenagers groping their way to the grave, a nuisance to be ignored or violently shoved aside.

They have discovered that the law is not just feeble (though it is) but that it frequently punishes those who try to uphold what used to be the rules of civilisation. 

And that, while we now have armed policemen licensed to kill virtually at will, our authorities recoil in horror at the very idea of an adult smacking a child. 

Full story here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1102112/PETER-HITCHENS-Peek-inside-schools-shudder--future.html

 

Controlling The Future

By
EURSOC Two

Orwell said that he who controls the past, controls the future.


Would this explain recent archaeological excavations at some of the most contentious sites of Britain's recent history?

When most of us think of archaeology, we imagine digs in Roman, Celtic or Medieval sites. More recently, the early days of the Industrial Revolution have been the subject of excavations. An 18th century furnace is, after all, as vulnerable as a Greek temple and may hold just as much interest for future historians.

But what will they make of digs at Greenham Common, where most of the Labour cabinet and their advisors dozens of women ran a "peace camp" in protest against the deployment of US weapons in Britain during the 1980s?

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Hub of Ages

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