Circumstances always change

But belief systems should be strog enough to absorb those changes. Not Dave's at least, not his much vaunted belief in the primacy of our law, tradition and what have you. Well not if the comments he made to LBC are anything to go by. "Now, if those circumstances change, if the Germans ratify, if the Poles ratify, if the Czechs ratify, if the Irish vote Yes to the treaty, then a new set of circumstances [apply], and I will address those at the time." The Witterer puts it quite well

"Not only does he want the UK to remain a member of the EU, but he will not consider a move that could lead to Britain leaving the EU - something which is
sure to please his Eurosceptic members! Neither does this latest statement address the problem of why, if we are a trading nation, that we should be co-operating with our allies and friends in Europe....of course we should"

Look mate, what is astonishing is that Dave is prepared to lead his party into
General Election without giving the slightest indication of how he
will handle the European Union. The European Union which even official
sources now accept creates at largest 70% of out laws.

Why bother to vote for a party that hasn't an opinion on the vast majority of legislation, or if it does have an opinion, isn't prepared to let the British public know what it is for fear they may react.

Well Dave, it just won't wash, the people of our country deserve to be told what is happening and not to have the elite, new or old withhold information from them. It is apparent that he has learnt nothing from the scandals of the past year. People are fed up with that old style, 'the elite know best' attitude.

No you cannot go to the fair

So though nobody has had the courtesy to respond to Farage's letter of last week - with the honourable exception of the Ombudsman's office,(A ceremonial tip of the hat to you Sir). Of course not. That would only encourage the rabiod sceptic and we cannot have that. This was in reference to inducements being offered to Brussels based figures to go and campaign in Ireland for a Yes vote, picked up by the Telegraph today.

However I understand that a response to the letter has been drawn up by the Commission, ad here it is,

"The Commission has no role in the making of this spontaneous and unsolicited offer. The Commission staff is subject to high ethical standards and clear legal obligations and would not be allowed to accept such an offer without prior agreement (cf. Art. 11 of the Staff Regulations).

I should ruddy well hope not.

No Commission official has requested an authorization under Art. 11 of the Staff Regulations to acept the said offer. To our knowledge, no official has accepted the offer

Well of course they haven't. Most of them do understand what the staff regulations say about accepting inducements. So it ios always better to apologise than to ask permission.

"Oh sorry boss, I thought that Article 11 said that I had to act in the interests of the European Communities, campaigning in Dublin must count. Nice pint of Guiness too,"

The Commission has a consistent policy of raising staff awareness about their rights and obligations so that there is no specific alert needed on this matter (as suggested by Mr Farage MEP).

So by not flagging it up, as requested by Farage, then people can go and nobody would be the wiser, the Commission can play dumb, saying, "But we thought everybody understood".

The fact that it would bethe work of say, 5 seconds to send a round robin message of this kind is obviously too much. Particularly if it is at the prompting of UKIP.

Congratulations Estonia

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, who was killed by an explosion in Afghanistan, has been awarded the Estonian Defence Forces Distinguished Service Decoration.

We wish

Ian Traynor from the Guardian phoned me up this moring to discuss the Gael Poll poll. Apart from suggesting that we willfully pulled the wool over the experts eyes... which as I have already explained we did not, do he comes up with some interesting stuff about the people who conducted the contentious poll some of which I knew and some was news to me.

Slightly annoyed he uses me by name, but hey,

"Politics makes for odd bedfellows," said Gawain Towler, the Ukip spokesman who started the Gael Poll controversy by sending the findings to bloggers, including Mick Fealty, aka Slugger O'Toole, the reputable and award-winning blogger on Irish politics who now believes he was "suckered".
"We're on the same side as the shinners [Sinn Féin]," said Towler. He added he hoped the findings were true, but admitted they were "wildly contrary" to the other
polls.

However no complaints there - though I thik Mick admits to have suckered himself, no it is the next paragraph I take issue with,

Ukip and its EU allies have spent millions on the no campaign, leafleting Irish households with lurid claims about mass Turkish immigration if the Lisbon treaty comes into force.

Yeah right Ian, millions. What ruddy millions? We have spent approx 150,000 euros between us in the Group, blown our year's budget on trying to let the Irish see something other than the propgamda of the 'Yes' side.

Whereas, lets think, who has in fact spent millions, could it be the Commission?

Could it be Business?

Could it be the Irish Government?

Come on Ian, not good enough.

Yes campaign encourage EU officials to break the rules

Fresh from chauffering an EU Commissioner around Ireland to the joy of the 'No' campaign, Michael O'Leary is now in hot water again. This time for giving the 'Yes' lot a whole bunch of free flights from Brussels to Dublin to help with campaigning.

You see that to accept flights etc for political campainging is quite wrong, what with the targetted officials being civil servants an all.

So wrong indeed that Farage has written to all the institutions on the offer,

"Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community
TITLE II
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF OFFICIALS
Article 11
An official shall carry out his duties and conduct himself solely with the interests of the Communities in mind; he shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority, organization or person outside his institution... (my emphasis)

An official shall not without the permission of the appointing authority accept from any government or from any other source outside the institution to which he belongs any honour, decoration, favour, gift or payment of any kind whatever, (my emphasis)

Article 12
An official shall refrain from any action or behaviour which might reflect
adversely upon his position.

Which can be found here

It is apparent to me that any official of the European Communities availing him or herself of this offer, would firstly be accepting, from another source a "gift or payment of any kind whatever" viz, a return flight to Dublin. They would also would by accepting the condition, "You must agree in writing to canvass for a Yes vote while in Dublin" be in clear breach of Article 11, "or take instructions".

To do either would, in an impartial, honest and transparent civil service mean that they clearly breach Article 12, as their behaviour would clearly "reflect adversely upon his position".

Farage goes on to demand action,

To that end, I request and require that you immediately send a message to all members of staff of the European Parliament warning them that to take up this offer would result in a breach of the Staff Regulations and thus a disciplinary procedure.

So either they ban them from taking part, or don't. If they don't that is either negligence (the offer only comes into force on Monday) or they grant officials permission. Which in itself would rather show the Irish people what they are up against in the EU.

By their deeds we shall know them.

Opinion poll discovers shocking truth

The Pew Global Attitudes Project has come up with one of those, "well you don't say" type polls,

Most Mexicans See Better Life in U.S.

Most worrying for US lawmakers is that 18% wouold more illegally. Well barring the thought that is 18% of those whio haven't already moved that amounts to about 10 1/2 million if the latest CIA figures are anythig to go by.

Wonder what is being learnt here ad who pays?

Refugees, asylum seekers, migrants & EU nationals training course

Love the costs of the course,

Cost to members: £175. Non-members: £220. Community/voluntary organisations:
£195.

I suspect that most members, and most Community organisations will be supported by the tax payers.

They do't like it up 'em

Here is Dick Roche, Irish Europe Minister running round like Dad's Army's Cpl Jones screaming "Don't Panic! Mr Mainwaring, Don't Panic!" in the Dail yesterday,

"Minister of State for Europe Dick Roche described the political opinion of UKIP leader Nigel Farage as a “bigoted, narrow, insular, little Englander view”. He said he disrespected people such as UKIP “making mendacious claims that have nothing to do with Irish life”.

During a Dáil question on the Lisbon Treaty referendum debate, Mr Roche said he had told Mr Farage that “I do not object to his views because of where he comes from but I object to the views he expressed” in the leaflet issued by Europe of Freedom
and Democracy Group to every residence in the State.

“It is a bigoted, narrow, insular, little Englander view that has nothing whatsoever to add to political debate in this country and certainly it is not a view held with the
interests of the Irish people at heart,” he said."

Repeat after me Mr Roche,

The man, not the ball. The man not the ball...

British interest defended!!!

Well if German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck is to be believed. Astonishingly, and entirely contrary to all recent tradition.

"There is clearly a lobby in London that wants to defend its competitive advantage tooth and nail,"

Well blimey, how terribly uncommunitaire of them.

I suppose it is just a shame that it isn't the British government or opposition, just Boris Johnson, UKIP and the city.

Of course Germany would never defend German economic interest, perish the thought.

Beat up a Smoker today

See the blood, revel in the camera work, marvel at the artistry. Then demand your money back.

This sort of film, glorifying in violence is part of the malaise. It's extroadinary isn't it that a film made by the NHS should be so unpleasant in a violent way that even Youtube put it behind a firewall?

The mindset of those who made, directed, paid and commissioned this should be questioned seriously. By all means talk abou the health impact of smoking. But glorify in a man being beaten up by an invisible assailant? The only invisible assailant is the state. The smoker knows that smoking is bad for him.

Hat Tip, Dick Puddlecote

Short note of condolence

Sad news from Georgia. Kevin, the 22 year old son of former Ind/Dem MEP Kathy Sinott drowned while at college. My thoughts and prayers go to her, Joady and the rest of the family.

C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la vert

Pleased as I am to discover that languages have not been entirely driven from the curriculem, James Bartholemew's discovery of what exactly is in the modern French 'A' level curriculum just shows us how politicised our education system has become,

"I was told that not one of the examining boards for French 'A' level now sets a single piece of French literature. The students will not read a single French book or play. Instead they will go through a textbook which includes one chapter on literature and three on the environment. This is a sick cocktail of philistinism and eco-propaganda. "

So goodbye Moliere, hello Gore.

So what is it that is so distinctive about the French culture, the language of Rimbaud, Montaigne, Flaubert, dammit even Derrida and Satre that means that sub eductaional exponants of climate change get the nod?

Why cannot our youth be exposed to beauty rather than propaganda? After all they ca pick up the propaganda in their own language on a daily basis.

Besmirching a great land's name

Now I am very fond of the place, you know land of The Jags, heather, sporrans and the like. But today any thoughts of Scotland have been ruined by the woman masquerading as a Law Officer, the vastly over promoted Baroness Scotland.

The fact that she has been convicted of a crime.

That she has been fined £5,000

None of this is wildly strange, it happens all the time, a quick glance in the court reports will tell you so. But that she has the sheer brass neck to fail to resign when she is the Government's most senior law officer. When she was responsible for taking the law that she has fallen foul of through the House of Lords.

That just beggars belief.

As a country we base our civilisation as much on the concept of equality under the law as anything else.

We are a high trust (or at least I thought we were a high trust society. See the Anglosphere primer on that one).

If we jettison that concept of equality, that this woman can keep her job when anybody else would find themselves fired scares me to my roots. Yes maybe she is going to pay her debt to society when she signs the check. But as a member of the House of Lords we cannot summarily eject her at an election. Remember a new Labour peer is for life, not just for a parliamentary session.

As part of the Blairite, new labour destruction of our governing institutions she stands out like hat statue of Justice on the Old Bailey, you know the one, Justice, arms akimbo, diaphanously dressed. In one great mit the famous trusty sword of justice and the other the scales of justice. But this time, she is not wearing the blindfold, no, she is wearing a veil, and beneath the veil she is giving us a knowing wink.

Moreover that Nick Clegg can then say something about the affair like this to Kevin Maguire "..he thinks Baroness Scotland needn't resign. Depressing if one of the few Black women in public life must walk".

Who gives a brass farthing if she is black? Lets get this straight Mr Clegg, try this thought experiment.

If Vince Cable had done the same, would you gave expected his resignation...? Yes of course you would.

So would you not expect the Attorney General to live by the same standards as a middle-class white male, such as your esteemed Treasury spokesman? Obviously not.

So does that mean you think that Baroness Scotland is in some way morally unable to live up to those standards?

And why is that?

Because she is a "black woman"?

Isn't that a tad... what's the word, Oh yes, racist?

Isn't it?

Oh boy

Well my post from last night seems to have caused some trouble. Yes I did flag it up to two senior commentators, Mick Fealty and to Mike Smithson (and Mike, Yes I am the press officer for the EFG Group including UKIP, honest).

However I advised both of them that I thought it was an extraordinary poll, and that I didn't understand the methodology, but gave them the contacts of the guy who designed them.

Now I understand more it looks like the poll is very dicey indeed, but I diodn't suggest otherwise. Sorry if others took my hope that it was accurate to belief in the same. Indeed in both cases I mentioned that I thought the result was going to be tight, and in my own opinion I feared that the Yes would win - albeit narrowly.

Hey Ho, only a couple of weeks to go, and who knows maybe the 'just wandered down the street and asked people' style of poll will be more accurate than the Irish Times one. Here's hoping.

Nonetheless, if I did mislead either of the aforsaid gentlemen, then I apologise unreservedly.

Still some hope

Excellent article by Herman Kelly, my collegue in the Group who is helping with the No campaign in Ireland. He goes into the spending and activities, particularly of the Yes side, ad then the very reasonable respise of the average punter,

The 2,000 Irish employees of accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), while munching on their prawn sandwiches during a lazy lunchtime last week, received an email from senior management urging them to vote Yes in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum.
While Ireland still has the benefit of the secret ballot it most certainly does not have the benefit of equal campaign funding for both sides. Incidentally, not all Yes campaigning companies are canvassing the same way. Microsoft Ireland managing director Paul Rellis said his company’s public Yes position on the treaty was well known, and "you don’t have to tell people what you think". PwC clearly think you do...

Go read the whole thing

Lisbon Treaty on the Rocks

News reaches me from Irelad, if so it looks like the game is afoot

A new opinion poll shows that there has been a massive surge in support for the No side, which, if it holds till voting day would result in the Lisbon Treaty being heavily defeated by a margin of 59% NO ‘V’ 41% YES.

In one of the largest polls of its kind ever carried out: Gael Poll polled 1,500 respondents in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Galway, Athlone, Tralee, Dundalk and Letterkenny over the course of six days last week.

The respondents were asked one single question: How do you intend to vote in the Lisbon Treaty Referendum?

A substantial 723 (59 %) said they intended voting No as opposed to 502 (41%) who indicated that they would vote Yes. The survey also showed that 15% percent of voters were still undecided. When pollsters discounted the don't knows: an overwhelming 59% of people would vote No in the referendum as opposed to 41% who indicated that they would vote Yes.

The last Gael Poll which was published in the Irish Sun (June 4th 2008) accurately predicted that the Lisbon Treaty would be defeated by a margin of 54 % for the No side versus 46% for Yes campaigners.

On the day of the count -which took place nine days later- the actual result was 53.4% No and 46.6 % Yes.The uncanny poll prediction which was out by only a half a percent was the most accurate poll in the country.

If this in no rogue, and Mick Fealty tells me any poll over 1200 in the Repuublic has to be taken seriously (margin of error of approx 3%) then this is very serious infdeed. Mike Smithson over at political betting is, I hope going to check o the methodology.

Cripes, Dave Cameron might have to fulfill that promise.

Now wouldn't that be grand!

Real or not? Honesty in Irish politics shocker

This rather wonderful poster has turned up in Ireland. My informant swears to me it is a real poster put out by the Ireland for Europe campaign.

Durig the last referendum the 'Yes' side lost the battle in various ways, but one aspect that they singled out as a failure was the fact that the 'No' side had the temerity to use 'humour'. This was seen as underhand and somewhat devious. The 'Yes' side would never stoop so low as to laugh, dammit.

Anyhow I am told that this is a super ironic take the campaign.

Either that or the 'No' side are being underhand again and taking the piss. Rather effectively I would say.

It was found on this YouTube,

Irish 'Yes' side loses the plot

Micheál Martin, the Irish Foriegn Minister seems to have been channelling the unpleasant Dick Roche in today's press conference in Dublin.



Attacking the Freedom and Democracy Group's flyer,

he described it thus,

A new dimension to the extreme anti-EU campaign will be seen by every household
in the country in the coming days as the UK Independence Party begins a full national delivery of a 12 page colour publication. This is quite the nastiest, most deceptive piece of literature every distributed in an Irish referendum. Every page is designed to paint the EU as an organisation which is out to destroy all that the Irish people hold dear. It tries to import the extreme anti-foreigner rhetoric of the British right and scare a wide range of interest groups on issues like tax, euthanasia and property rights.

The most extraordinary thing about this publication is that its true origins are missing. It does mention a parliamentary group which no one will have heard of, but this is purely and simply the UK Independence Party trying to distort our referendum to forward their own agenda. This is the party which has an extreme British nationalist agenda, yet it is now distributing a leaflet with our tricolour and claiming to promote our interests.

As I have said before, people are welcome to express but this type of deeply cynical behaviour should have no place in our debate.

To anyone who receives this publication I say, don't be fooled and don't take anything on its face value. This is a dishonest attempt to promote an extreme anti-EU agenda which would do great damage to Ireland if it succeeds. I appeal to people who are concerned to avail of one of the many neutral sources that are available to clarify the situation.

The vitriol by which he spouts this stuff suggests to me that the partisans of the Yes are badly rattled by something. My guess is that their private polling is making the vote look closer than they fear.

Aww my hearty bleeds

So Intel thinks it's unfair,

Intel Corp. is claiming in court documents that European Union regulators made serious mistakes in levying a record 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) fine for monopoly abuse last May.

Well do they think that by giving a great wodge of cash to the 'yes' side in the referendum the Commission will see the error of their ways. Fat chance.

Just read the drivel. They are giving the money as "a matter of corporate social responsibility". Yeah right, like supporting education projects in the third world.

Or maybe Intel think that the Irish are educational incompetant and need to be taught what is right and good. Arrogant stinkers.

Good for the goose

This fair lady is Marian Harkin, Irish MEP and stalwart of the 'Yes' campaign in the Lisbon (2) referendum. Rather delightfully she returns to the ancient shibboleth so beloved of the Yes sifde, that a rejection of the Treaty by the Irish would mean that Ireland woyuld be subservient to the UK. Patent nonsense of course, but plays well amongst the greener of her audience.

Apart from anything else Irish cultural trade and relations are as strong with the US as with the UK. Not only that, even if, which I dispute, there was a risk of Ireland falling into the UK's political penumbra, the risk of that is surely better than the certainty of being subservient to Brussels? After all with independence comes the right to choose your friends. Whereas the abject surrender to Brussels brings along with it the end of those rights.

Anyhow, this anti-Brit, like many on the 'Yes' side is firmly against any intervention from the likes of Farage being in Dublin.

So imagine my surprise and amusement when she sent this round this morning,

Dear Colleagues,

Many people have been asking me whether they can help in any way in the Irish referendum campaign, and the answer is, of course, that a national referendum is, by definition, an internal national matter, even where, as in this case, the repercussions have an effect across Europe.

That being said, Irish people resident in Belgium and indeed all over Europe have set up a "Europe for Ireland" group to promote a Yes vote to the Lisbon Treaty and which is helping in whatever way it can within the rules. Anyone interested in contributing should visit their website at:

http://www.europeforireland.eu/

As they say on their website: "Whether you are Irish or not, we need YOUR
help... You can send us an e-mail of support, sign up for updates, donate, join us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Linked In , contact your family or friends in Ireland, tell us your ideas/suggestions as to what we should do."

I invite you all to visit their site.

Kind regards,

Marian Harkin MEP IRELAND

This couldn't be soliciting help from abroad could it? And who are these people and where does their finance come from?

Well, the Chairman is a former Eurocrat named Kevin Leydon. He now runs a lobby firm in Brussels specialising in clean fuel for vehicles. Before that he worked for DG Energy oddly enough as head of unit working in, surprise "Clean Urban Transport".

Vice Chairman is Malachy Vallely, who has the rather splendid title of Director of The Louvain Institute for Ireland in Europe. (Which to be fair has a rather interesting historical project about the flight of the Earls). Looking at its website it is hard to believe that it is not at least in part funded bythe Commission - but no mention of funding is made. He is a UK citizen, being an Ulsterman.

Treasurer is Benoit Keane. Mr Keane is a high flying lawyer with McDermott Will & Emery/Stanbrook LLP and part of the Brussels (UK) Labour Party -(here trying to set up a Brussels wing of the fabian Societry). Mr Keane to be fair has argued publically in favour of a referendum taking place in published papers.

Press officer is Jim Murray, a well known Brussels presence who for 18 years headed up the pseudo consumer rights organisation BEUC. BEUC, as its website admits is funded by the EU (48% of a budget of 2,703,000 in 2008). Mr Murray is now a commercial lobbyist in Brussels.

Others involved include Linda Barry, a recent intern in Charle McCreevy's cabinet, Ireland's EU Commissioner. Looking at her groups and activities a truer than true believer.

Colm Leydon, who doesn't have much web prescence but who may or may not hold this pos(remunerated we don't know) via the chairman who has a remarkably similar name.

and

Eoghan Magionn a recent law graduate based in Brussels.

A deeply representative selection of those who support the 'Yes'. Idealistic, or up to their armpits in EU diverted taxpayers cash.

So who do you want as next Commission President

Well according to the Europarl TV the choice is this,or this?

"The Debate: Barroso or a vacuum?"