http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu european blogging competition 2009 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:49:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The second in my series on the UK's party election broadcasts in anticipation of the European election. The lack of Europe references in both of the broadcasts so far has not escaped my notice - more on that next time... And now for the second round of quite possibly the geekiest ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/05/broadcast-bingo-2-labour-party-election-broadcast-complete-with-unsurprisingly-bad-music/ For most people, May is the month of bank holidays and occasional bouts of sunshine. For those unfortunate enough not to switch the news off promptly, May is also the month of election party broadcasts. But although the façade of impartiality knocks many viewers sick, I have revelled in the election ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/05/broadcast-bingo-1-conservative-party-election-broadcast-complete-with-sickening-child-and-geri-halliwell/ Thought it only appropriate to share this great bit of British advertising. If this doesn't get the voters out, who knows what will. The Electoral Commission obviously felt the need to demonstrate what a painful experience voting in the European Election can be... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-4JtlrnJ0s] Still, at least it's marginally more engaging than plugs. http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/05/the-electoral-commission-give-us-one-reason-not-to-vote-in-the-european-election-pain/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="481" caption="Nick Griffin vs Sarfraz Manzoor? My money's on Manzoor."][/caption] Us British bloggers are at a disadvantage - a disadvantage highlighted, somewhat ironically, by Danish blogger Mads Frederiksen - which is that, with less than 50 days to go, the British media still aren't covering the European election. Which, ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/04/as-the-election-approaches-the-christians-impress-and-don%e2%80%99t-induce-tears-andor-sleep/ [caption id="attachment_394" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="A good advert by a bad party"][/caption] So there I was, trawling through the job listings on w4mp when I came across a rather unusual advert. For those who don't know, w4mp is a British website primarily for parliamentary interns that lists available jobs in Westminster. Most are ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/04/the-jury-team-a-paradoxical-party-with-a-good-advert/ News flash! The European Parliament has launched its election campaign materials. With unsurprisingly blue results. It is likely that there's more hanging on the forthcoming election than ever before (global economic crisis/EU expansion/Eurozone problemos) - so let us have a quick look at what the EU thinks sells the EU. The brief ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/03/laptops-milk-or-voting-in-the-european-election-parliament-launches-its-billboards/ [caption id="attachment_2416" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Libertas, your bus stops here. (Photo: Tristam Sparks "][/caption] (A slightly more distracted version of this post can also be found here, on my personal blog.) I know that something dodgy's going on when I attempt to interview someone and they willingly agree. This is because my opening sentence ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/03/thanks-for-your-time-libertas/ Last week, when blogging about UK politics, I said: I reckon there’s something wrong with all expenses over £100,000. Forget second home, that’s a second flipping salary, that is. But that was before I came across this Monday's findings of the Tax Payers' Alliance (TPA - a group campaining for better spending of UK taxes). And I thought UK ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/02/how-do-you-make-1m-become-an-mep/ Drum roll please... the BBC appear to have launched their 'European Elections 2009' efforts - with disappointing results. [caption id="attachment_304" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="More interesting than the EU?"][/caption] I appreciate that this bemoaning of the BBC follows very much in the footsteps of my last Th!nk About It post, but when attempting ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/02/more-disappointment-with-love-from-the-bbc/ In yet another desperate attempt to keep the EU light-hearted (and yet another successful - if I do say so myself - attempt to avoid "serious EU issues"), hereby follows my second Th!nk About It Post. (Also posted on my boring blog here.) Reading Mark Mardell's Euroblog like a good Th!nker ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/02/eu-jargon-and-the-73-pages-that-mardell-wont-blog-about/ This can also be seen on my own blog. A warning to those impressive people with English as a second/third/fourth language: much of what is written below is sarcastic. I'm sorry. I like to blog about politicians getting themselves into sticky situations. Not only do British politicians do this all the ... http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/02/sticky-situations-all-round/