As long as I'm mocking Eurocrats, I may as well go for a trifecta. It's nice to see that those highly paid functionaries in their weird expensive building don't just have really good ideas -- they also focus like lasers on the truly important issues:

There were arguments over who should properly be dubbed "Mr Euro", after the appointment of Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as the President of the group of finance ministers from the 12 euro countries.

Mr Juncker has been widely dubbed "Mr Euro" in the press but, as the overseer of euro zone monetary policy, Mr Trichet has jealously demanded the title back.

"As far as the currency is concerned, I am evidently 'Mr Euro'", said the Frenchman, according to AFP.

I really should go through my EUObserver messages more often.

Your tax Euros at work:

Little signs in the building are supposed to help officials find their way around the maze of corridors in the 241,515m² building.

But they are not your everyday signs, instead they are colour-coded with various symbols on them.

For example, one coloured triangle contains three black dots, another contains one dot; still another is a different colour altogether - but the onlooker is clueless as to what they mean.

And there are around 40 of these symbols. Anticipating the chaos they will cause, a little booklet has been issued internally to officials to decipher them.

There's something almost poetic about this.

Can anyone explain what the European Commission was thinking when they commisioned this?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for mocking the Eurocracy -- I just never expected to see them mocking themselves. At least not intentionally.

I'm also rather taken with the "Axis of Reflexive Atlanticism," which is what happens when you let Eurocrats attempt to craft a pithy saying.

Free debate advice for President Bush (and worth every penny)
Hold Kerry's gaze, grin (the one that Bush-haters call a smirk), and say that you have some memory that is "seared - seared" into you.

In all probability, Kerry will either miss the reference to his discredited Christmas in Cambodia testimony before the Senate or he'll just let it lie, but...

There's a small possibility it'll goad him into doing something really stupid, since Kerry is exquisitely sensitive to appearances and lashes out reflexively and inappropriately when he feels he's challenged or off-balance (literally or figuratively). Being openly mocked on live television might just push him over the edge (it wouldn't be smart, but neither is insulting the guy who's job is to take a bullet for you).

And there's no downside, since any complaint about the comment would also call attention to Kerry's visit from the Ghost of Christmas' Imaginary. So in the worst case, you'll give your supporters a chuckle and your opponents a touch of dyspepsia. What's to lose?

Political Expression in the Seattle Area
I'm still seeing about as many bumper stickers for Bush as for Kerry on the Eastside (Seattle itself is a completely different story) and my car (with a relatively discrete W'04 sticker) hasn't been vandalized.

That said, the half-life of a roadside Bush sign appears to be less than a day. Driving home last Friday evening, I noticed four or five Bush signs by the side of the road. Saturday morning, all but one of the signs was gone. Signs for other Republicans were not disturbed, for whatever that's worth.

We went to the new Bellevue Whole Foods on Sunday. It's a great store, but the aisles were crawling with granola grannies wearing anti-Bush buttons and sour expressions. Interestingly enough, pretty much the only people I've seen wearing political buttons in this area are older women with sour expressions (another such was handing out "Patriot for Kerry" buttons in Starbucks last week).