Russia Has Lost An Empire But Not

In A Democracy It Is Ultimately For Us, The Citizens, To Judge Where To Place The Balance Between Security And Privacy, Safety And Liberty. It's Our Lives And Liberties That Are Threatened, Not Only By Terrorism But Also By Massive Depredations Of Our Privacy In The Name Of Counter-terrorism. If Those Companies From Which Governments Actually Take Most Of Our Intimate Details Want To Show That They Are Still On The Side Of The Angels, They Had Better Join This Struggle For Transparency Too.

After Saying Yes To Turkey, The Eu Is Having Difficulty Finding Clear And Consistent Grounds For Saying No To Other, Still More Remote Candidates - But Being In The General Vicinity Of Europe Does Seem To Be A Continuing Requirement.

The Trouble Is That Privacy Is At Once Essential To, And In Tension With, Both Freedom And Security. A Cabinet Minister Who Keeps His Mistress In Satin Sheets At The French Taxpayer's Expense Cannot Justly Object When The Press Exposes His Misuse Of Public Funds. Our Freedom To Scrutinise The Conduct Of Public Figures Trumps That Minister's Claim To Privacy. The Question Is: Where And How Do We Draw The Line Between A Genuine Public Interest And That Which Is Merely What Interests The Public?

There Is Already A Generation Of European Graduates Who Feel They Have Been Robbed Of The Better Future They Were Led To Expect. They Are Members Of A New Class: The Precariat.

Well, That's The Way Democracy Works. We Have To Build This Europe With The Material We Have At Our Disposal. And This Material Is National Democracy.