I have a good friend who does what can only be described as ‘good things’ for a living. Sometimes unbearably and suffocatingly good it is true, but admirable and utterly unimpeachable (well come on, who likes someone who can reasonably say “I help people” when asked what they do for a living?)
Anyhow, this friend told me a tale about something that recently happened in the earthquake zone in Northern Pakistan. If I get the facts slightly wrong I hope I will be forgiven.
It appears that a rather secular Pakistani restauranter from Islamabad piled his kitchens into a truck and hot foot up to the disaster zone and set up his tent and started preparing food. The fires were burning and the broth was bubbling. At which point a local imam arrived and demanded publicly that he stop.
‘You cannot do that, it is Ramadan, you cannot feed people during the daylight hours’Our hero was staggered, here he was providing humanitarian aid to people who had nothing, indeed doing his religiuos duty, and this bloody mullah was demanding that he stop. It appears that he was being assisted by EU aid officials – maybe they gave him the tent, or were providing food I do not know. The point was that the threat carried by the fanatic is very real, so sadly the fellow stopped and waited until nightfall.
His decision was supported by the EU officials, as they could no go against the wishes of the mullah on security grounds.
The point is of course is that he was talking out of his extremist arse, the Koran allows people to eat in extremis, as Islam for today points out, "Muslims are permitted to break the ordained fast of Ramadan when there is danger to their health. In this situation a Muslim should make up his fast later at any other time of the year." “But if anyone is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period should be made up by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties” - Surah Al-Baqarah (2-183)
No Allah doesn’t want to put people to difficulties, it is just the wankers who claim to act in his name who do. Worse, nobody in authority was prepared to face down the fanatic, thus accepting increased suffering and strengthening his grip on a weakened population.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
There may be trouble ahead
According to AFP (behind a registration site) The new President of Poland, Mr Kaczynski has thrown yet another spanner of democracy into the great ongoing drive of integration. Unlike most of the new countries, such as the Baltic states he has announced that their will be a referendum on joining the eurozone. He said "The euro is not a question for today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. It is a question for many years, especially since the EU is presently not encouraging us to join". Of course today opinion polls in Poland show a majority in favour of the Euro, but he has to be commended for his courage on this one, I am sure that Brussels is livid.
Meanwhile, and waking from his torpor, Lech Walesa has finally come to a conclusion about the Constitution, previosuly he had given it luke warm support, but now he seems to have changed his mind. He doesn’t like it. Which given the current state of play is a little bit like me deciding that I am not very partial to Ken Clarke’s candidacy for Tory leadership. It is good that I have come to a decision, my opinion doesn’t count for much and it is a little late.
Meanwhile, and waking from his torpor, Lech Walesa has finally come to a conclusion about the Constitution, previosuly he had given it luke warm support, but now he seems to have changed his mind. He doesn’t like it. Which given the current state of play is a little bit like me deciding that I am not very partial to Ken Clarke’s candidacy for Tory leadership. It is good that I have come to a decision, my opinion doesn’t count for much and it is a little late.
Oh all right then Aunt
Blog tag has struck, so from Worstall, via the blog Aunt and in no particular order I give you my favourite items of consumption.
Kiwi boot polish,
The original and still the best (and available across the continent)
Mason Pearson brushes
The choice of all metropolitan mermaids
Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea
The very best of God’s own county pre-packaged for instant gratification.
The Number 11 bus
London’s cheapest sight seeing
Tanqueray Gin
Is it that time already?
Now who to tag?
Kiwi boot polish,
The original and still the best (and available across the continent)
Mason Pearson brushes
The choice of all metropolitan mermaids
Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea
The very best of God’s own county pre-packaged for instant gratification.
The Number 11 bus
London’s cheapest sight seeing
Tanqueray Gin
Is it that time already?
Now who to tag?
Thursday, October 27, 2005
If you ask a silly question you get an Islamofascist answer
My landlady in Strasbourg and I were watching French news this morning. The story about the Iranian President’s oh so predictable comments about Israel was being shown. She turned to me and said,
“You know I was taking my daughter to school the other day and I noticed the driver was North African, to pass the time of day I asked him if he was ov=observing Ramadan
“Yes” he said,
“How long does it go on for?”, I asked
“About 40 days”
“That must be tough. I guess you might wish you were Jewish at least their fast is only for one day?”
“Jews are not human he replied”.
You know she said to me, he was a young man, born here in Strasbourg, the home of France’s oldest settled Jewish community”, I worry for my children.”
So do I.
“You know I was taking my daughter to school the other day and I noticed the driver was North African, to pass the time of day I asked him if he was ov=observing Ramadan
“Yes” he said,
“How long does it go on for?”, I asked
“About 40 days”
“That must be tough. I guess you might wish you were Jewish at least their fast is only for one day?”
“Jews are not human he replied”.
You know she said to me, he was a young man, born here in Strasbourg, the home of France’s oldest settled Jewish community”, I worry for my children.”
So do I.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Dvaid's campaign burn the midnight oil.
This has just been forwarded to me,
Titled "A message from David Davis", it lays out very briefly why one should vote for Mr Davis is the Tory leadership. It must have gone out to tens of thousands and was dated yesterday at quarter to midnight.
The problem is of course is that he signs off his message to the party faithful thus,
"That is the way to give everyone in Britain the opportunity to excel in life. That is an ambition worth fighting for.
Dvaid Davis"
Now I know it was late, but if he cannot even spell his name right what hope has he that he can run the country?
Titled "A message from David Davis", it lays out very briefly why one should vote for Mr Davis is the Tory leadership. It must have gone out to tens of thousands and was dated yesterday at quarter to midnight.
The problem is of course is that he signs off his message to the party faithful thus,
"That is the way to give everyone in Britain the opportunity to excel in life. That is an ambition worth fighting for.
Dvaid Davis"
Now I know it was late, but if he cannot even spell his name right what hope has he that he can run the country?
Monday, October 24, 2005
Ask not for whom the Borrell tolls
The otiose numbnuts that presides of the travelling farce that is the European Parliament travelled to Luxembourg and farted. Or maybe he farted over the phone. However his wafts have been picked up by the Luxembourgish paper the Tageblatt. What does the dull Spaniard have to say? "There is still a need for the Constitutional Treaty". Please note that he doesn't say 'A' Constitutional treaty but 'The' Constitutional Treaty. Better he announces that there must be a single pan-European debate, in order to stop such democratic accidents as the French and Dutch Nos, but he regrets that Europe today isn't a single problem and that the people are unable to "answer the question 'what they want to do, and what they want to become". Maybe they can answer that question Josep, maybe they have, its just that you are unhappy with the answers they have given.
Ivo good idea for a city break
Ivo Belet is a Flemish Christian Democrat. He also, according to his website supports three different football teams. Which is pretty impressive, normally the tribalism of football wouldn't allow that sort of promiscuity. Thus I am astounded to learn in De Standaard (behind a sub firewall) that he has visited Glasgow for a couple of days to learn about "the social and cultural function of football". Yea Gods is he in for a shock. The thought of an innocent Flem - though this picture suggests that he knows what to do with a lingerie model - bimbling into Ibrox Park or Possil suggesting that he could be both a Taig and a Hun. There would be a red stripe all the way down Sauchiehall St.
There again, anything he could learn there could have easily been done by reading the Herald and the Evening post, so maybe he just felt like a couple of days in Scotland at the Parliament's expense, whilst taking in a footy match - indeed it will be the game between Celtic and Motherwell on Wednesday that he managed to blag a ticketfor.
Has he never been to a game of his beloved St Truiden / Genk / Anderlecht against any francophone side? He could learn it all there.
There again, anything he could learn there could have easily been done by reading the Herald and the Evening post, so maybe he just felt like a couple of days in Scotland at the Parliament's expense, whilst taking in a footy match - indeed it will be the game between Celtic and Motherwell on Wednesday that he managed to blag a ticketfor.
Has he never been to a game of his beloved St Truiden / Genk / Anderlecht against any francophone side? He could learn it all there.
Can we make this compulsory?
Angela Merkle is seen by some as a good thing in the Czech Republic, mostly for the fact that she spent a few years as a student there back in the dark ages of communism.
In discussing this point a brilliant, and I hope achievable suggestion has been touted by Rudolf Zahradník her former professor,
"The fact that she comes from a former Eastern bloc country and lived through a totalitarian regime, as we did, can only have a positive effect," he said. "I think all Western politicians should experience at least several months of real socialism."
I was thinking of sending them all off to live in Burma, or maybe Zimbabwe.
In discussing this point a brilliant, and I hope achievable suggestion has been touted by Rudolf Zahradník her former professor,
"The fact that she comes from a former Eastern bloc country and lived through a totalitarian regime, as we did, can only have a positive effect," he said. "I think all Western politicians should experience at least several months of real socialism."
I was thinking of sending them all off to live in Burma, or maybe Zimbabwe.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Dangerous liaisons
A chum of mine is going out with a Belgian bailiff. It is after all a job. He is in fact a Hussier de Justice, and has to do the normal bailiff type stuff, sequestering property and so on.
What is different is the adultery side of the job here in Belgium.
It appears that if you believe that your spouse is playing away, and you wish to terminate your marriage, whilst retaining control of everything children, house etc, then you must first prove that an affair is indeed taking place. First you hire a private detective, who then goes to the local magistrate that grants a warrant. At which point you hire a hussier de Justice, a policeman and a locksmith. They then turn up at the scene of the delicto and attempt to catch it in flagrante – but not before 5am. The idea is that these three types break in, and go up to the bedroom, confirm the identities of any in there and leave job done. Of course if the straying partner gets wind of this they may hide in the house, thus the policeman and hussier have, with the warrant the right to search every room.
In how many ways is this wrong?
Worse it is dangerous. Earlier this year the Justice Minister in Belgium, one Laurette Onkelinx announced that there were 641,781 guns in private ownership. Now according to the CIA in July of this year there were 8,616,216 people over the age of 14 in the country. That means that one in every 14 people owns a legally held gun.
And they send officials into people’s bedrooms at 5 o’clock in the morning!
What is different is the adultery side of the job here in Belgium.
It appears that if you believe that your spouse is playing away, and you wish to terminate your marriage, whilst retaining control of everything children, house etc, then you must first prove that an affair is indeed taking place. First you hire a private detective, who then goes to the local magistrate that grants a warrant. At which point you hire a hussier de Justice, a policeman and a locksmith. They then turn up at the scene of the delicto and attempt to catch it in flagrante – but not before 5am. The idea is that these three types break in, and go up to the bedroom, confirm the identities of any in there and leave job done. Of course if the straying partner gets wind of this they may hide in the house, thus the policeman and hussier have, with the warrant the right to search every room.
In how many ways is this wrong?
Worse it is dangerous. Earlier this year the Justice Minister in Belgium, one Laurette Onkelinx announced that there were 641,781 guns in private ownership. Now according to the CIA in July of this year there were 8,616,216 people over the age of 14 in the country. That means that one in every 14 people owns a legally held gun.
And they send officials into people’s bedrooms at 5 o’clock in the morning!
This moved me
Sitting this morning scanning through Saturday’s weekend section of the Torygraph I came across a half page advert, all text and black and white advertising “1000 DANGOOR SCHOLARSHIPS”. I read on,
“Naim Dangoor came to London as a student from Iraq exactly 70 years ago to study engineering. Although he returned to Iraq after his studies, he promised himself that if one day he had the means to help others enjoy the same benefit, he would do so. Since then, Mr Dangoor and his family settled in this country in the 1960s, so he would also like to give something back to the country which has provided him and his family with welcome, refuge and support.
Mr Dangoor, noting the financial hurdles that British students now have to surmount to go to university, sees the scholarships as offering the opportunity for some of the best students to realise their full potential. He feels that support of this kind can help to transform people’s lives and the life of the country. He hopes that this will act as an example to others who can provide similar support in the way that this already happens elsewhere.”
According to one interview, Dangoor is “an Iraqi Jew with a fascinating life story. His grandfather was the chief rabbi in Baghdad, when the city's population was 40% Jewish and owned 95% of the business. He came to Britain in the 1930s to study engineering at Queen Mary College in London and returned to Iraq to join the army and then set up his business empire. He spent the 1950s running the Coca-Cola franchise in Iraq with a beloved Muslim business partner.
His wife, Renee, was voted Miss Iraq in 1947. He likes to joke that 1947 was the only year that Iraq ever held the competition so, technically, she still holds the record.”
He is also responsible for "The Scribe - Journal of Babylonian Jewry" and a facinating read it is.
“Naim Dangoor came to London as a student from Iraq exactly 70 years ago to study engineering. Although he returned to Iraq after his studies, he promised himself that if one day he had the means to help others enjoy the same benefit, he would do so. Since then, Mr Dangoor and his family settled in this country in the 1960s, so he would also like to give something back to the country which has provided him and his family with welcome, refuge and support.
Mr Dangoor, noting the financial hurdles that British students now have to surmount to go to university, sees the scholarships as offering the opportunity for some of the best students to realise their full potential. He feels that support of this kind can help to transform people’s lives and the life of the country. He hopes that this will act as an example to others who can provide similar support in the way that this already happens elsewhere.”
According to one interview, Dangoor is “an Iraqi Jew with a fascinating life story. His grandfather was the chief rabbi in Baghdad, when the city's population was 40% Jewish and owned 95% of the business. He came to Britain in the 1930s to study engineering at Queen Mary College in London and returned to Iraq to join the army and then set up his business empire. He spent the 1950s running the Coca-Cola franchise in Iraq with a beloved Muslim business partner.
His wife, Renee, was voted Miss Iraq in 1947. He likes to joke that 1947 was the only year that Iraq ever held the competition so, technically, she still holds the record.”
He is also responsible for "The Scribe - Journal of Babylonian Jewry" and a facinating read it is.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
My mandate is personal
In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Swedish Liberal MEP Maria Carlshamre (at right, checking her spreadsheets) has said "But I have made the judgment that the mandate I was given by voters takes precedence. I am here on a personal mandate".
Given that she has just been convicted on accounting fraud, and has been requested by her party to resign her seat it is quite a brave if repellent stand to take.
I suppoe it is only par for he course, but it seems that the party had takenaccount of Carlshamre's personal situation at the time she committed the crime. And still allowed her on the list!
New Feature – European Parliamentary Round Up
Do let me know if you find this interesting, if so I will try to make a habit of it.
Turks begin to get the right idea
In another of those “Don’t you know who I am” moments the latest problem to bedevil Turkey's attempts to become an European Union happened a couple of days ago when a completely unknown MEP was refused access to the sublime porte, due to the fact that he was not carrying his own passport, but instead his European Parliamentarian “Laisser passer”. The Turkish customs officials obviously looked at it, looked at the increasingly irate MEP prevented him from entering the country, relenting only when he paid for an entry visa and after protests by both EU officials and Greek diplomats.
The incident was exacerbated by the fact that Ioannis Varvitsiotis, a former New Democracy defence minister, was part of a European People's Party (EPP) delegation arriving in Istanbul (Constantinople?) for the 9th Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the EPP.
"... I don't know whether this (type of incident) has previously occurred, nevertheless, it happened to me. I sat there (airport) for three and a half hours, waiting and protesting constantly, and only after protests by the Greek embassy, the European People's Party and the European Parliament was I allowed to leave, and after I paid for a visa, of course, on a diplomatic passport -- astonishing," Varvitsiotis howled to an Athens radio station.
According to reports, upon his arrival from Brussels, Varvitsiotis was told by Turkish customs officials that his European Parliament passport did not constitute a valid travel document as far as they are concerned.
Finally, Greek Govement government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos admitted that Varvitsiotis did not have his Greek passport with him; rather he carried the oh so terribly important MEP pass the "laisser-passer". As only 780 of these things exist in the world is it any wonder that the Turkish customs chap thought it was dodgy?
Meanwhile in Germany
Look ma, Hans has no clothes
In an article sure to rustle a few feathers in Brussels the Handlesblatt has pointed out that German MEPs have little or no influence back home. Singled out for irrelevance is Martin ‘Capo’ Schulz, a man of such insignificance that despite being leader of the second largest group in the EP, the paper describes thus “he is seen as a famous politician in Strasbourg, but without influence in Germany”. One MEP Armin Laschet has moved back to national politics – he is to become the minister for families in North Rhine Westphalia, quite the honour of course.
Showing their irrelevance on the national, now global stage, prize booby Elmar Brok, yup him again, has come up with a bright idea. It seems he thinks that the European Union should form a coalition to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program!!! What the hell. He and his cronies have been hamstringing all attempts to crack down of the mullocracy and their nuclear ambitions. At least the one eyed wonder is beginning to wake up. Of course his form of waking up isn’t waking up at all, it is the equivalent of a foreign policy hitting the snooze button on the alarm, when the house is on fire. What precisely does he think that the god awful EU troika has been up to over the last few years? How will he manage this ‘if the EU managed to put Russia on her side, China could also change opinion’. He also seems to believe that the European Union is the height of democratic accountability, and that little green men live down the end of the garden – not forgetting that Tory MEPs make porn movies in the EP (Well come to think about it, it might be a lucrative sideline – you just have to see the new staffers from the Eastern block).
The madness is of course is that he is the sane one – Described in Handlesblatt as the EP’s “specialist on Iran” the ghastly green Angelika Beer thinks that would be too harsh, ‘to insulate Iran on the international level, would be a “massive mistake”. Whereas apparently according to her and the idiots who make our foreign policy allowing a theocracy which has historically exported terrorism and is the centre of serious anti-Semitism to get their bloody mitts on Nuclear weapons is just fine and dandy. (I am sure that Ms Beer would be delighted to learn that the regieme that she wishes not to isolate only yesterday shot dead a 22 yera old, while he sat in his car. His crime? Seyed Mostafa was eating a snack during Ramadam. (I have since discovered that she has hitched her skirt to the Ganji campaign - credit due)
Whoops
Martin Schulz (see above) looked around himself before the last election, and noticed distinct paucity of brown faces in the German SPD ranks in the European Parliament and thus ensured that this was no longer the case by positively discriminating in favour of one Vural Oger. Oger a German of Turkish extraction is a massively wealthy businessman who has made his pile importing Turks to Germany and back again. It seems that one of his former business partners a turco-Belgian by the name of Guray Serimozu vanished. Oger admits that the fellow owes him millions of Euros.
In earlier press reports, “Together with his brother Eray, Serimozu leads the travel bureau Mediterra. He was kidnapped because he reportedly had debts to a foreigner with diplomatic status”.
Oger of course denies any links.
Polish MEP linked to murder
The Polish prosecutor’s office is carrying out investigations into Paweł Piskorski. The former Mayor of Warsaw is being checked out because a city councillor made some allegations about this just days before his disputed murder. Bogdan Tyszkiewicz was shot on the 2nd August., supposedly by his Belarussian driver. This new information casts a shadow over current theories into his brutal killing.
So what do you reckon, more like this?
Turks begin to get the right idea
In another of those “Don’t you know who I am” moments the latest problem to bedevil Turkey's attempts to become an European Union happened a couple of days ago when a completely unknown MEP was refused access to the sublime porte, due to the fact that he was not carrying his own passport, but instead his European Parliamentarian “Laisser passer”. The Turkish customs officials obviously looked at it, looked at the increasingly irate MEP prevented him from entering the country, relenting only when he paid for an entry visa and after protests by both EU officials and Greek diplomats.
The incident was exacerbated by the fact that Ioannis Varvitsiotis, a former New Democracy defence minister, was part of a European People's Party (EPP) delegation arriving in Istanbul (Constantinople?) for the 9th Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the EPP.
"... I don't know whether this (type of incident) has previously occurred, nevertheless, it happened to me. I sat there (airport) for three and a half hours, waiting and protesting constantly, and only after protests by the Greek embassy, the European People's Party and the European Parliament was I allowed to leave, and after I paid for a visa, of course, on a diplomatic passport -- astonishing," Varvitsiotis howled to an Athens radio station.
According to reports, upon his arrival from Brussels, Varvitsiotis was told by Turkish customs officials that his European Parliament passport did not constitute a valid travel document as far as they are concerned.
Finally, Greek Govement government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos admitted that Varvitsiotis did not have his Greek passport with him; rather he carried the oh so terribly important MEP pass the "laisser-passer". As only 780 of these things exist in the world is it any wonder that the Turkish customs chap thought it was dodgy?
Meanwhile in Germany
Look ma, Hans has no clothes
In an article sure to rustle a few feathers in Brussels the Handlesblatt has pointed out that German MEPs have little or no influence back home. Singled out for irrelevance is Martin ‘Capo’ Schulz, a man of such insignificance that despite being leader of the second largest group in the EP, the paper describes thus “he is seen as a famous politician in Strasbourg, but without influence in Germany”. One MEP Armin Laschet has moved back to national politics – he is to become the minister for families in North Rhine Westphalia, quite the honour of course.
Showing their irrelevance on the national, now global stage, prize booby Elmar Brok, yup him again, has come up with a bright idea. It seems he thinks that the European Union should form a coalition to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program!!! What the hell. He and his cronies have been hamstringing all attempts to crack down of the mullocracy and their nuclear ambitions. At least the one eyed wonder is beginning to wake up. Of course his form of waking up isn’t waking up at all, it is the equivalent of a foreign policy hitting the snooze button on the alarm, when the house is on fire. What precisely does he think that the god awful EU troika has been up to over the last few years? How will he manage this ‘if the EU managed to put Russia on her side, China could also change opinion’. He also seems to believe that the European Union is the height of democratic accountability, and that little green men live down the end of the garden – not forgetting that Tory MEPs make porn movies in the EP (Well come to think about it, it might be a lucrative sideline – you just have to see the new staffers from the Eastern block).
The madness is of course is that he is the sane one – Described in Handlesblatt as the EP’s “specialist on Iran” the ghastly green Angelika Beer thinks that would be too harsh, ‘to insulate Iran on the international level, would be a “massive mistake”. Whereas apparently according to her and the idiots who make our foreign policy allowing a theocracy which has historically exported terrorism and is the centre of serious anti-Semitism to get their bloody mitts on Nuclear weapons is just fine and dandy. (I am sure that Ms Beer would be delighted to learn that the regieme that she wishes not to isolate only yesterday shot dead a 22 yera old, while he sat in his car. His crime? Seyed Mostafa was eating a snack during Ramadam. (I have since discovered that she has hitched her skirt to the Ganji campaign - credit due)
Whoops
Martin Schulz (see above) looked around himself before the last election, and noticed distinct paucity of brown faces in the German SPD ranks in the European Parliament and thus ensured that this was no longer the case by positively discriminating in favour of one Vural Oger. Oger a German of Turkish extraction is a massively wealthy businessman who has made his pile importing Turks to Germany and back again. It seems that one of his former business partners a turco-Belgian by the name of Guray Serimozu vanished. Oger admits that the fellow owes him millions of Euros.
In earlier press reports, “Together with his brother Eray, Serimozu leads the travel bureau Mediterra. He was kidnapped because he reportedly had debts to a foreigner with diplomatic status”.
Oger of course denies any links.
Polish MEP linked to murder
The Polish prosecutor’s office is carrying out investigations into Paweł Piskorski. The former Mayor of Warsaw is being checked out because a city councillor made some allegations about this just days before his disputed murder. Bogdan Tyszkiewicz was shot on the 2nd August., supposedly by his Belarussian driver. This new information casts a shadow over current theories into his brutal killing.
So what do you reckon, more like this?
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
For the benefit of Europe in General
Monday Oct 21st 1805
May the Great God whom I worship Grant to my Country and for the benefit of Europe in General a great and Glorious Victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it, and May humanity after Victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet, for myself individually I commit my Life to Him who made me.
No doubt Mr Chirac can now claim Trafalgar as a great victory for Europe
May the Great God whom I worship Grant to my Country and for the benefit of Europe in General a great and Glorious Victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it, and May humanity after Victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet, for myself individually I commit my Life to Him who made me.
No doubt Mr Chirac can now claim Trafalgar as a great victory for Europe
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Baltic Democracy, a concept under fire
A series of opionion polls last week must have dimmed the lights in the ECOFIN corridor in the Justus Lupsus building. Even the Trickster himself back in Frankfurt might allow hismelf a wry smile. It seems that the good peoples of the Baltics are not as convinced as their political classes of the efficacy of the Euro to solve their ills.
In Estonia the government plans to introduce the currency in just over a year, January 1st 2007. However according to a poll carried out by Emor it seems that they have yet to convince their population. 48% oppose the Euro, with 47% in favour (only 5% don’t know, pretty impressive). Damned close but just the wrong side of democratic legitimacy, I think you would agree.
South a bit we come to Latvia, here the government plans to wait a while well at least one more year, their planned date being 2008. However they too need to persuade their people, as a poll carried out by SKDS and released on the 12th has 49.1% in opposition whilst only 38.2% are in favour. Worse it seems the hopes of the government are under threat from high inflation rates – which it appears they might listen to, well at least more than they do their own population.
South a bit more and we arrive in the forested land of Lithuania, ancestral homeland of such luminaries as Leon Britton and Simon Schama. Here too the government plans to introduce the single currency on January 1st 2007, despite its population being less than enamoured. The opinion polling here, carried out by RAIT, has the population at 38% against and 28.4% in favour. This of course shouldn’t worry the government, after all they ratified the Constitution before there was a fully translated Lithuanian edition of the Constitution available for public scrutiny.
In Estonia the government plans to introduce the currency in just over a year, January 1st 2007. However according to a poll carried out by Emor it seems that they have yet to convince their population. 48% oppose the Euro, with 47% in favour (only 5% don’t know, pretty impressive). Damned close but just the wrong side of democratic legitimacy, I think you would agree.
South a bit we come to Latvia, here the government plans to wait a while well at least one more year, their planned date being 2008. However they too need to persuade their people, as a poll carried out by SKDS and released on the 12th has 49.1% in opposition whilst only 38.2% are in favour. Worse it seems the hopes of the government are under threat from high inflation rates – which it appears they might listen to, well at least more than they do their own population.
South a bit more and we arrive in the forested land of Lithuania, ancestral homeland of such luminaries as Leon Britton and Simon Schama. Here too the government plans to introduce the single currency on January 1st 2007, despite its population being less than enamoured. The opinion polling here, carried out by RAIT, has the population at 38% against and 28.4% in favour. This of course shouldn’t worry the government, after all they ratified the Constitution before there was a fully translated Lithuanian edition of the Constitution available for public scrutiny.
Friday, October 14, 2005
German MEP accuses Tory of porn production
What a prize chump the very important and extremely influential chap, Elmar Brok is (seen here talking yet again to an empty room).This German Christian Democrat is Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and is an arch federast. Indeed so arch is he that he is one of the chosen few that are still flying around Europe selling the defunct constitution on extra taxpayers cash (along with the execrable Corbett).
This week Dan Hannan, Tory MEP was working with the Beeb on a program, and he invited Brok – and socialist chum Jo Lienen – also arch federast to take part. Dan has this rather old fashioned belief that both sides of the argument should be heard. He also has the belief that these two are just so awful that any coverage that they might get on British television is worth its weight in gold to the sceptic cause.
Anyhow, Brok didn’t turn up and Dan dispatched an assistant to find him. On being told that he was in the coffee bar she went to see him. After all the coffee shop was mere yards from the plenary chamber where the debate was going on.
At first Brok suggested that Hannan was playing tricks on him. Then he made a bizarre allegation,
“Those cameras cannot be the BBC, they are too small. The BBC use bigger cameras, I should know I am on the BBC nearly every week. Those cameras are the sort you use to make porn films”.
Not only is this a strange allegation, it also suggests of that he has personal knowledge of making porn films.
Did he really say that?
I have just started to read the book, "The United States of Europe" by the veteran Washington post hack, and former London bureau cheif, TR Reid. What struck me wasn't the ten errors of fact about the EU in the first two pages (the EU has a constitution, which, though the book was written before the no votes is stil a silly and I fear optomistic error). No what really struck me was this quote from Tony Blair during the 2001 EU summit, a summit distinguished by a row between Finland and Italy about the location of the European Food Agency.
"You know, these summits makes sense if you try and have a sense of history. I mean when the thing is getting tiresome, you have to remember what we are doing here. We are building a new world superpower. The European Union is about the projection of collective power, wealth and influence".
Yes you did read that, "a new world superpower".
"You know, these summits makes sense if you try and have a sense of history. I mean when the thing is getting tiresome, you have to remember what we are doing here. We are building a new world superpower. The European Union is about the projection of collective power, wealth and influence".
Yes you did read that, "a new world superpower".
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Euro News Estonia
In a desperate attempt to convince a sceptical public the Estonian under-secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Aare Järvan , has published an article in Postimees on the possible impact of Euro entry on the economy of Estonia. In a classic peice of self deception he claims optimistically that "through joining the 'euro-zone' we (Estonia) will have a real possibility for the first time, to participate in the decision-making process concerning the continent's monetary policy " . Well I suppose the good under-secretary is right, Estonia will participate, but it will have no influence. Why does he think that one voice - and a very small voice at that - would have any influence. All he has to do is to look at the damage single interest rates have been doing to significantly larger countries and economies like Ireland and Portugal to realise the level of participation the Estonians will have in Euro zone decisions.
He goes on to say that "euro cannot fulfil the functions of money worse than the kroon (present Estonian currency) ... The impact of inflation can be related to the one-time act of conversion (prices to euro). This is a limited impact and we should all stand against possible abuses in this field. The effect of inflation may also be due to sectoral impact derived from the overall speed of economic growth" . Again Järvan veers to the blindly and foolishly optimistic. The Euro cannot do the job worse than the Kroon? I was unaware of quite how bad the Kroon was as a currency the high inflation low growth in Estonia that I have heard about must all be down to the dreadfully currency? What is he going on about?
The impact of inflation as a one off? Well yes there are serve one of inflationary pressures in Euro changeover, but please don't discount the inflationary aspects of the single currency zone after the one off effects. Indeed the inflation versus growth equation in the Eurozone has shown almost continuous preference to inflation.
Mr Järvan seems to be in the final stage of euro dementia, by which the sufferer seems to believe that a dose of the single currency can cure all ills. However of course he is merely applying a quack medicine or poultice, as if he was a mediaevalist who believed in the efficacy of bleeding a patient until the fellow was too weak to protest.
He goes on to say that "euro cannot fulfil the functions of money worse than the kroon (present Estonian currency) ... The impact of inflation can be related to the one-time act of conversion (prices to euro). This is a limited impact and we should all stand against possible abuses in this field. The effect of inflation may also be due to sectoral impact derived from the overall speed of economic growth" . Again Järvan veers to the blindly and foolishly optimistic. The Euro cannot do the job worse than the Kroon? I was unaware of quite how bad the Kroon was as a currency the high inflation low growth in Estonia that I have heard about must all be down to the dreadfully currency? What is he going on about?
The impact of inflation as a one off? Well yes there are serve one of inflationary pressures in Euro changeover, but please don't discount the inflationary aspects of the single currency zone after the one off effects. Indeed the inflation versus growth equation in the Eurozone has shown almost continuous preference to inflation.
Mr Järvan seems to be in the final stage of euro dementia, by which the sufferer seems to believe that a dose of the single currency can cure all ills. However of course he is merely applying a quack medicine or poultice, as if he was a mediaevalist who believed in the efficacy of bleeding a patient until the fellow was too weak to protest.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Cameron for (a) change
A birdy tells me that Cameron has promised to leave the EPP if elected leader of the Tory party. This would mean that both he and Liam Fox have this policy, leaving Rifkind (Ho) Clarke (new scep that he is) and Davis as the pro EPP candidates. As it seems likely that Clarke will be beaten by both of them, then there may well be a straight fight at the end. Extraodinarily it might by Fox versus Cameron.
No Hope
The leader of the Tory Group in Brussels really is a twit. Timothy Kirkhope – he of the wannabe stately home fetish – used last week’s Tory conference to show off his paranoia. Readers of this blog may remember the ridiculous carry on in the Conservative delegation of the European parliament. If so you can go straight to the paragraph after next.
The basic story is that Roger Helmer and a number of his more eurosceptic Tory colleagues supported a motion of censure on the Commission President which called for greater transparency. Because this motion had been sponsored by UKIP they were bullied, but to their credit kept their signatures on the motion. During the debate Helmer attacked the blatant bullying of his own leader Kirkhope and Hans-Gert Poettering the leader of the Centre Right EPP grouping to which the Tories are aligned. For this lese majesty he was thrown out of the group on the spot and now sits as an independent Conservative. This situation has lasted for months and every day the leadership’s authority drip drips away. (The chief whip, the appalling but irrelevant Philip Bradbourne had written a letter accusing them of supporting terrorism) The great crime was the UKIP link.
The week before last was supposed to the final push Helmer was summoned to a disciplinary meeting in Strasbourg where everybody expected him to be thrown out of the Tory party officially. Of course this didn’t happen as there is leadership race going on – so he was told that he was to receive his verdict after conference. All this is in the public domain.
It appears that at first Kirkhope attempted to have Helmer banned from the conference, but as Helmer is probably one of the more popular MEPs at least for the party membership, and seeing as Kirkhope hadn’t had the balls to throw him out he couldn’t do this. Kirkhope was to make a speech on the Wednesday afternoon, so, remembering what had happened the week before in Brighton, and warmed by the sight of police heavy handedness, (“I was a Home Office Minister you know”) he phoned Blackpools’ finest, to warn them that he expected that there might be serious trouble in the Conference Centre.
Special Branch then phoned the conference organisers who were ignorant of any threat. They asked the police where the information had come from? On being told the source was Kirkhope, they, no doubt stifling a guffaw, informed the police not to worry and that “They had things in hand”. Kirkhope in a fit of increasing paranoia and panic proceded to bring his keynote address forward by two hours.
The reason for all of this, Helmer’s supporters – and there are many – had been wandering around the conference wearing “Reinstate Roger” button badges.
As an aside, one delegate from the East Midlands (Helmer’s constituency) went to the MEP stall at the conference and asked about the situation. They were startled to be told be the scrote manning the stall, not to worry as, “Helmer’s going to join UKIP anyway, as is Chris Heaton-Harris for that matter”. This was news to both gentlemen, I am told that H-H at least was livid. The scrote is believed to work in the Whips office.
The basic story is that Roger Helmer and a number of his more eurosceptic Tory colleagues supported a motion of censure on the Commission President which called for greater transparency. Because this motion had been sponsored by UKIP they were bullied, but to their credit kept their signatures on the motion. During the debate Helmer attacked the blatant bullying of his own leader Kirkhope and Hans-Gert Poettering the leader of the Centre Right EPP grouping to which the Tories are aligned. For this lese majesty he was thrown out of the group on the spot and now sits as an independent Conservative. This situation has lasted for months and every day the leadership’s authority drip drips away. (The chief whip, the appalling but irrelevant Philip Bradbourne had written a letter accusing them of supporting terrorism) The great crime was the UKIP link.
The week before last was supposed to the final push Helmer was summoned to a disciplinary meeting in Strasbourg where everybody expected him to be thrown out of the Tory party officially. Of course this didn’t happen as there is leadership race going on – so he was told that he was to receive his verdict after conference. All this is in the public domain.
It appears that at first Kirkhope attempted to have Helmer banned from the conference, but as Helmer is probably one of the more popular MEPs at least for the party membership, and seeing as Kirkhope hadn’t had the balls to throw him out he couldn’t do this. Kirkhope was to make a speech on the Wednesday afternoon, so, remembering what had happened the week before in Brighton, and warmed by the sight of police heavy handedness, (“I was a Home Office Minister you know”) he phoned Blackpools’ finest, to warn them that he expected that there might be serious trouble in the Conference Centre.
Special Branch then phoned the conference organisers who were ignorant of any threat. They asked the police where the information had come from? On being told the source was Kirkhope, they, no doubt stifling a guffaw, informed the police not to worry and that “They had things in hand”. Kirkhope in a fit of increasing paranoia and panic proceded to bring his keynote address forward by two hours.
The reason for all of this, Helmer’s supporters – and there are many – had been wandering around the conference wearing “Reinstate Roger” button badges.
As an aside, one delegate from the East Midlands (Helmer’s constituency) went to the MEP stall at the conference and asked about the situation. They were startled to be told be the scrote manning the stall, not to worry as, “Helmer’s going to join UKIP anyway, as is Chris Heaton-Harris for that matter”. This was news to both gentlemen, I am told that H-H at least was livid. The scrote is believed to work in the Whips office.
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