Europe's power is easy to miss. Like an 'invisible hand', it operates through the shell
of traditional political structures.
The British House of Commons, British law courts, and British civil servants
are still here, but they have all become agents of the European Union implementing
European law. This is no accident.
By creating common standards that are implemented through national institutions,
Europe can take over countries without necessarily becoming a target for hostility…
Europe's invisibility allows it to spread its influence without provocation.
- Pro-euro author Mark Leonard

The quotation above might sound like something out of a conspiracy theory.
But Mark Leonard –
a passionate advocate of deeper integration - makes an astute observation.

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"As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic"
--Barack Obama, Berlin, July 24, 2008

"New data from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute shows that there is more ice than
normal in the Arctic waters north of the Svalbard archipelago. In most years, there are open
waters in the area north of the archipelago in the month of July. Studies from this year
however show that the area is covered by ice, the Meteorological Institute writes in a press
release."--Barents Observer (Kirkenes, Norway), July 24, 2008.
As Alice would say "Curiouser and curiouser"

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