Alcoholic or no - take the test

Me neither



Hat Tip Daniel1979

CSU in desperate stakes goes scep

The German - well OK Bavarian centre right party is in all sorts of trouble right now. They curremtly have 9 sitting MEPs including some big hitters in the Parliament like Inigo Freidrich. Due to a change in the way that the European Parliament election's are being held in Germany, they stand to lose all 9, despite still picking up over 40% in their home, and Germany's most populous Lande, Bavaria. This time they have to get over 5% of the whole of Germany's vote.

Of course this means that their sister (and have you ever seen sisters together, it can get pretty brutal at times) party the CDU will be the only one holding the flame of Christian Democracy in Germany, and they quite like that.

Add to that the spectre of Libertas Germany standing possibly with Count Von Stauffenburg (former CSU federal MP - and a chap with a resonant name) at top of the list and their is massive pressure on the old party of Bavaria.

So what do they do, first Edmund Stoiber suggests that he will ride to the flailing party's rescue by sitting at the top of their Euro list.

Now we hear that current party leader, Horst Seehofer has been talking referenda. No not on the Lisbon Treaty - though that would cook Libertas's goose in the Lande - but over Turkish entry into the European Union.

Now everybody knows that Merkle and the CSU see eye to eye on their not wanting Turkey through the portals of the Berlyamont (Germany would lose its position of country with most weight - and would have to pay for the privilage), but the word referendum is a dangerous one in German politics. Particulary in the light of the deliberations of the Constitutional Court.

Interesting times indeed in Barvaria.

Yehay.. Scottish Government to help small shops and post offices

Lies all lies, it's not true of course. They wouldn't consider it. Dammit even the EU is coming up with stuff that is better.

No the Scots are putting together their plans to ban fag machines and cigarette displays.

According to the Scottish Grocers Federation this will cost,

"between £5,000 and £10,000 for each shop to comply with the new regulations".

Which of course they can all afford easily can't they. No it will bethe small corner shops and the Post Offices that will be hammered by this illiberal, foolish legislation. The big supermarkets nmust be rubbing their hands with glee as more competition is put out of business by the idiotic Scottish Government.


Oh and though I was nice about Charlie MaCreevy's plans to lighten the burden on small businesses up there, please don't get me wrong. UKIP belives that businesses like those should be exempt from the whole gamut of pettifogging rules, but credit where credit is due.

So kind of them

Now they have it in for women who drink one glass of wine a day (or less). The National Cancer Institute has put out a wonderful piece of research that proves that we are all going to hell in a hand cart. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. One of the researchers did at least say this,

"It is up to individual people to make their own decision. All of us to some extent have to weigh up the risks and take some responsibility for our health," said Dr Allen."

To some extent! No Doctor Allen, it is not a case of to some extent at all. It is just it period. I am responsible for my health, you are responsible for your health, and Uncle Tom Cobbley is responsible for his bloody health.

Where do you think it becomes the respoinsibility of somebody else. One drink a night, two, three or maybe the whole Hague of 18 pints. At no point do you, you hectoring white coated buearocratic controllo freak get to decide when you can step in and decide, for me, what is or is not good for me.

I smoke - Bad for me.

I drink - sometimes to excess - bad for me.

I don't excercise - bad for me.

My diet is appalling - but very tasty - bad for me.

Come on then Dr Allen. At what point are you going to lobotomise me for my own good. Just sod off will you and drown in apool of your own self righteousness will you?

Oh lord I have looked a little futher into her career,

Dr Naomi Allen of Oxford University, a UK researcher who worked on the study, said: "Previous research has shown that there's a strong link between smoking and bladder cancer.

"But this study also suggests that young people who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more at risk of going on to develop the disease in later life.

"This adds to the growing body of evidence that children and adolescents may be even more vulnerable to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke than adults."

Though for the day

“There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods.
And this seems to be the final revolution.”

Aldous Huxley.

Maybe it won't be pharamacological, but he has a point. How close are we to this?

Duncan Stewart: Know it all bigot and all round skunk

Not being Irish, and not having access to RTE at home I had not had the misfortune to alight upon this all round waste of rations

TV environmentalist Duncan Stewart said: “The government can make this easier for all of us by just banning the practice of smoking in cars transporting children – and people will comply with this.”

Get a load of that "people will comply with this". Arrogant, dictatorial, authoritarian in the extreme. Of course he is an expert in the field of epidemeology - no, he is an architect.

Or is he a politician? Here he is campiagning for the Yes to Lisbon.

Is there anything he doesn't know. For that matter is there anything on which he is right.

Ghastly statist, autodictat.

Query

If, as the socialist group tells us,

Ninety percent of the suicides committed in Europe can be associated with
mental health problems.

Then what are the other 10% about? No really, I am perplexed?

Ding Dong Bong

It appears that Kelloggs may not have quite finessed their reaction to the Michael Phelps smokes dope story. Dropping him as their pin up boy seems to have backfired,

When Kellogg announced it would not renew its endorsement contract with Olympic medalist Michael Phelps after a photo of the athelete smoking pot surfaced, it may have cost the food company its sterling reputation, reports company reputation index Vanno.
Out of the 5,600 company reputations Vanno monitors, Kellogg ranked ninth before it booted Phelps. Now it's ranked 83. Not even an industry-wide peanut scare inflicted as much damage on the food company's reputation. A Vanno representative put together this chart:

Ooops.

Hat tip Ian PJ

So Hookah's aren't bad for you

Or at least for your next door neighbour.

Hookah (narghile, shisha, “water-pipe”) smoking is now seen by public health officials as a global tobacco epidemic. Cigarette Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is classically understood as a combination of Side-Stream Smoke (SSS) and Exhaled Main-Stream Smoke (EMSS), both diluted and aged. Some of the corresponding cigarette studies have served as the scientific basis for stringent legislation on indoor smoking across the world. Interestingly, one of the distinctive traits of the hookah device is that it generates almost no SSS. Indeed, its ETS is made up almost exclusively by the smoke exhaled by the smoker (EMSS), i.e. which has been filtered by the hookah at the level of the bowl, inside the water, along the hose and then by the smoker’s respiratory tract itself. The present paper reviews the sparse and scattered scientific evidence available about hookah EMSS and the corresponding inferences that can be drawn from the composition of cigarette EMSS. The reviewed literature shows that most of hookah ETS is made up of EMSS and that the latter qualitatively differs from MSS. Keeping in mind that the first victim of passive smoking is the active smoker her/himself, the toxicity of hookah ETS for non-smokers should not be overestimated and hyped in an unscientific way.

Good, good, so that is a defence of Shish bars, now can we look at all bars please.
Interestingly the study also points out the falacious use of health statistics by the Scottish Government who had claimed that within a year of bringing in the smoking ban heart attacks had dropped significantly. Really?

However, it was also criticised. In particular, one researcher noted that “the drop in heart attacks is based on very few cases” and that “the reported difference could easily be due to chance or to some uncontrolled factor”. In 2008, and in a similar situation to that analysed in the Helena study, the Scottish government declared that the smoking ban enforced one year before in that country had also led to a dramatic fall in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome. However, "the latest figures suggest a rise of 7.8 per cent in the second year of the ban, cancelling out the earlier drop […] This seems to be backed up by hospital data from England and Wales, which have failed to show a significant reduction in incidence of acute coronary syndrome since these two countries followed Scotland and went 'smoke free' in 2007 .

Guardian Journalist on the button shocker

Talking about the plethora of journalism degrees out there Nick Davies said,

"But there is a danger with the courses: there are now hundreds of them which claim to teach these skills, but a great many of them are genuine crap, taught by people who haven't the faintest idea of how to do the job."

Of course having thousands of jopurnalists without the first idea about how to do the job is a brilliant wheeze. If the fourth estate is filled with media-ocrity then who will be left to criticise?

Schulz wants all the pies

Martin Schulz, the leader of the socialists in the European Assembly has proven that he too is suffering from a delusions. According to the FAZ he is to be the SPD candidate to replace the outgoing German Commissioner, Günter Verheugen.

OK fine (though the CDU are rather down on the idea, Verheugen is a socialist and they think it is there tuen, particularly with Merkle as Chancellor). But Schulz wants to be Commissioner for only half the term, stopping after 2 1/2 yaers and standing down.

Why, because he also wants to become President of the European Parliament, but recognising that the electoral mathematics - and the back room deals of the EP presidential elections will most probably give the first half to the EPP. Thus his chance comes half way through the Parliamentary term.

But what this would mean in practice is, first he gets elected in June, then he stands down allowing somebody else to become an MEP from the autumn when the Commissioners are finalised, sit as a Commissioner for 2 1/2 years, then resign as Commissioner, order that one of the SpD MEPs be fired, resume his seat and get appointed President of Parliament for the second half of the term.

See what I mean... deluded.

Worse given this is a man who would lose his temper and start shouting and waving his hands about before he had finished reading the entrees on a menu, anybody who dares suggest that he is out of his tree is liable to be screamed at, I doubt that any of his advisors will have the brass balls to even disabuse him of the idea.

Picture CTK Agency

Strike two

After Iceland, now Latvia.

The Finacial crisis has taken down a second government, this time the ruling four party coalition in Latvia.

economy is set to drop 12 percent this year, the Finance Ministry has
forecast.

Yesterday Vaclav Klaus was barraked by the Parliament, for amongst other things pointing out how the economy was not working as planned, indeed was not working because it was increasingly planned.

He said,

We must say openly that the present economic system of the EU is a system of a suppressed market, a system of a permanently strengthening centrally controlled economy. Although history has more than clearly proven that this is a dead end, we find ourselves walking the same path once again. This results in a constant rise in both the extent of government masterminding and constraining of spontaneity of the market processes. In recent months, this trend has been further reinforced by incorrect interpretation of the causes of the present economic and financial crisis, as if it was caused by free market, while in reality it is just the contrary – caused by political manipulation of the market. It is again necessary to point out to the historical experience of our part of Europe and to the lessons we learned from it.

Well I suspect that there ought to be a few red faces around, but I won't hold my breath.

Farage on the Klaus Speech

Amazing how when you are in t he middle of things you cannot actually do anything

Everybody and his dog seems to have put posts up about Vaclav Klaus's speech to the European Parliament today. Sorry I was so remiss, but better minds were at work, so enjoy them.

One little nugget was the response of Hans-Gert Poettering which included this,

"in a democracy it's the view of the majority that counts"

Tell that to the French, the Dutch and the Irish, Hans-Gert.

La Crise pour les Nuls

This has just been sent to me by a friend - via the European Commission noticeboard. It seems to originate in Germany - but it succinctly puts the whole this into perspective

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Berlin. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar.

Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit.

He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed.

Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar.However they cannot pay back the debts.

Heidi cannot fulfil her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95%. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties.

The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

Gloomy news

This morning the Czech Parliament (lower house) passed the Lisbon Treaty 125:61.

Though they were always going to pass it I cannot say it makes me feel good. Of course the real fight ios going to be in the Upper House where the electoral mathematics are significantly more interesting. But a dark day.

Damned if you do damned if you don't

The European Police College is based at Bramshill in Hampshire. It is a place where senior coppers from all over the EU go to have a three month course in having their spines removed and is one of the smallest of EU agencies.



So it was a surprise to discover the the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee had yesterday refused to accept its accounts and had ordered a "postponement to the discharge" (I know the terminology is a bit strange but there you have it).


They also point out that there is an OLAF investigation into the College.

The slight comedy aspect to this is that the colege seems to have been trying to save money by buying furniture second hand, but fell foul of public procurement rules.

What can I say

I spotted a link on somebodies blog roll to this.

Adrian Muldrew

Not Found
Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here.

I couldn't have said it better myself

Pass the ...

...sick bag.

Truly this is not a spoof, I wish it were but no. In my occasional series where I introduce you to Members of the European Parliament there have been some highs, and some lows. Methinks this one is a low. Eija-Riitta Korhola is an EPP-ED MEP from Finland, and she has just sent this message to all her EPP-ED friends,

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I'm sorry to bring this up, but I trust your kindness.. As some of you know, I collect airline sick bags as a hobby. The study of such a collection is called vomitology which is very close to another nauseating word in the EU procedural definitions.

My reason to write to you is 3-fold - which is also a recommended technique for used sick-bags! However, I certainly collect them as unused.

1. To announce the world's second exhibition of sick bags in Finland. The first was on the occasion of my re-election campaign almost 5 years ago and following its mouth-watering success - I'm ready to reach and regurgitate it again for my country. This will take place in Helsinki's Restaurant Ostrobotnia on the 23th of April.

2. Given that collecting is a hobby where ambition grows, I need bags of bags so long as each is different from the rest. Please send me the sick bags from the most obscure of airlines. I'm looking forward to what you will bring up in this respect. But please hurry as time is not the only thing passing.

3. I'm offering a prize of dinner with me for the most obscure named sick bag from maybe the furthest corner of the globe. What can you throw up? That is the question.
Some of you have already contributed to my collection during these many years, and I use this opportunity to express my sincere thanks. There are some real pearls in my collection from my colleagues.

Yours sickcerely
Eija-Riitta

And I want to get elected to this place?

Where would we be without experts?

I missed this last week, it must have been excitment over the robbery. However those pointy headed boffins over at the Medical Research Council have excelled themselves again.

Envy and pleasure do go together

No.. Tell me it ain't true doc.

The Schadenfreude study was led by Dr Hidehiko Takahashi of Tokoyo Medical and Dental University in Japan. Dr Dean Mobbs of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, a co-author on the paper, said:

‘‘We captured images of what happens in the brain when a person feels pleasure as the result of another’s misfortune. The results clearly showed increased activation in the greater ventral striatum, a region implicated in many types of reward.’’

It's that definition of pleasure that sets me salivating,

Dr Mobbs added: “For example, the bragging neighbour who loses his expensive new car during the economic downturn would presumably make most people feel some satisfaction.”

So that explains why the Irish 'No' vote felt so good.

Ganley on the European Union

Here are some comments from Declan Ganley on the European Union.

On the European Union

"I believe in the European project. I believe in the absolute necessity of its success". Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

"We believe that the European Union has limitless potential. We believe that by working together, Europeans can translate shared values into an ambitious vision that lights up the next century of human history". Libertas website

"Libertas is passionately pro-European. We believe that the European Union is one of the most worthwhile, and laudable political projects in history, and we are proud to be able to make some contribution to its future success". Libertas website

On Euroscepticism

"Old fashioned Euroscepticism is dead". Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

"Old fashioned Euroscepticism is dead. The Lisbon Treaty is dead. Let's put them in the same graves". Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

"Libertas is not nor will ever be Eurosceptic". Libertas website

On Peace in Europe

"Even the greatest Eurosceptic would have to recognise that the European project has, at minimum, been the most successful peace process in the history of the world". Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

On the Brussels Elite

"Let me remind them. We are the Europeans. Europe is almost half a billion citizens. It's not a cabal of an unaccountable elite, sitting in Brussels, to make laws over us, without having ever to present themselves to a ballot box. Europe belongs to its citizens" Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

"The Lisbon Treaty was going to create the position of president of Europe...it was going to create a foreign and security minister...how were they going to speak to the premier of China about the merits of democracy when the first question they asked would be 'Well, how many votes did you get?'" Ganley address to Heritage Foundation (NOTE This is a hypothetical scenario identical to one suggested by Jens Peter Bonde at his retirement party in 2008)

"Parliaments, and the powers of parliaments, and the democratic legitimacy of parliaments is being eviscerated by a Brussels that is not democratically accountable" Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

On the need for a European Constitution and how it should be made

"If we are to have a constitution in Europe its something that the average 15 year old should be able to read and understand...and it is most certainly something that every European citizen...must have the opportunity state by state to accept or reject at the ballot box" Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

"...and if they reject it lets be honest, lets tell them where this European project is going, and if they reject it, we have to go back to the drawing board, and we have to try again. And if they reject it the next time we have to do the same thing again. Until we get it right" Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

On the Nice Treaty

"I voted 'Yes' both times in both referenda on the Nice Treaty" Ganley address to Heritage Foundation

"Lets be honest...I didn't read the Nice Treaty. I don't think many people did. So if I'd read it, I might have taken a different position, although I doubt it"
In response to a journalist's question about why Ganley said he had supported the Nice Treaty

Quotes to be found here, and here.

Hat Tip, MIck McManus

What is happening in Poland?

This is, according to Ryszard Czarnecki,

The whole of Poland tightens muscles - MEPs Jerzy BUZEK (EPP-ED) and Ryszard CZARNECKI (PiS [UEN]) participated in the debate "The whole of Poland tightens muscles" which took place in Chorzów.

Nope I have no idea either, I just thought I would share it with you.

Them Lobbyists...

Lovely story about the European Commission's register of Lobbyists on EUObs.

Italian prankster spams EU lobbyist register

The European Commission's voluntary online register of Brussels lobbyists has been hijacked by a mysterious mischief-maker who registered a string of seemingly fake companies.

Foremost amongst them is the "Fares Bank Ltd" of Harley Street, London, which is supposed to have spent €250 million on lobbying EU institutions in 2008, immediately making it the biggest spender in the Register of Interest Representatives, a database of public relations companies, law firms, NGOs and think-tanks.

The vast sum looks all the more outlandish when put next to the two largest real lobbying outfits in Brussels, Hill & Knowlton, which had a turnover of about €8 million and Burston Marsteller on €7 million.

OK so this is a fun wheeze but it does completely put the whole register in question,

"If any old fool can sign up to the registry and post whatever they want, without somebody seriously monitoring the data that's in there, what is the registry worth?" Mr Wesselius added.

"How do we know that Hill & Knowlton also has actually spent €8 million? Who's checking up on it? How can anybody trust any of the data the registry contains?"

Well quite

What he would have said: The speech Wilders planned to give

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.

Thank you for inviting me. Thank you Lord Pearson and Lady Cox for showing Fitna, and for your gracious invitation. While others look away, you seem to understand the true tradition of your country, and a flag that still stands for freedom.

This is no ordinary place. This is not just one of England’s tourist attractions. This is a sacred place. This is the mother of all Parliaments, and I am deeply humbled to speak before you.
The Houses of Parliament is where Winston Churchill stood firm, and warned – all throughout the 1930’s – for the dangers looming. Most of the time he stood alone.

In 1982 President Reagan came to the House of Commons, where he did a speech very few people liked. Reagan called upon the West to reject communism and defend freedom. He introduced a phrase: ‘evil empire’. Reagan’s speech stands out as a clarion call to preserve our liberties. I quote: If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly.

What Reagan meant is that you cannot run away from history, you cannot escape the dangers of ideologies that are out to destroy you. Denial is no option.

Communism was indeed left on the ash heap of history, just as Reagan predicted in his speech in the House of Commons. He lived to see the Berlin Wall coming down, just as Churchill witnessed the implosion of national-socialism.

Today, I come before you to warn of another great threat. It is called Islam. It poses as a religion, but its goals are very worldly: world domination, holy war, sharia law, the end of the separation of church and state, the end of democracy. It is not a religion, it is a political ideology. It demands you respect, but has no respect for you.

There might be moderate Muslims, but there is no moderate Islam. Islam will never change, because it is build on two rocks that are forever, two fundamental beliefs that will never change, and will never go away. First, there is Quran, Allah’s personal word, uncreated, forever, with orders that need to be fulfilled regardless of place or time. And second, there is al-insal al-kamil, the perfect man, Muhammad the role model, whose deeds are to be imitated by all Muslims. And since Muhammad was a warlord and a conqueror we know what to expect.

Islam means submission, so there cannot be any mistake about it’s goal. That’s a given. The question is whether the British people, with its glorious past, is longing for that submission.
We see Islam taking off in the West at an incredible speed. The United Kingdom has seen a rapid growth of the number of Muslims. Over the last ten years, the Muslim population has grown ten times as fast as the rest of society. This has put an enormous pressure on society. Thanks to British politicians who have forgotten about Winston Churchill, the English now have taken the path of least resistance. They give up. They give in.

Thank you very much for letting me into the country. I received a letter from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, kindly disinviting me. I would threaten community relations, and therefore public security in the UK, the letter stated.

For a moment I feared that I would be refused entrance. But I was confident the British government would never sacrifice free speech because of fear of Islam. Britannia rules the waves, and Islam will never rule Britain, so I was confident the Border Agency would let me through. And after all, you have invited stranger creatures than me. Two years ago the House of Commons welcomed Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh, linked to Al Qaeda. He was invited to Westminster by Lord Ahmed, who met him at Regent’s Park mosque three weeks before. Mr. Rideh, suspected of being a money man for terror groups, was given a SECURITY sticker for his Parliamentary visit.

Well, if you let in this man, than an elected politician from a fellow EU country surely is welcome here too. By letting me speak today you show that Mr Churchill’s spirit is still very much alive. And you prove that the European Union truly is working; the free movement of persons is still one of the pillars of the European project.

But there is still much work to be done. Britain seems to have become a country ruled by fear. A country where civil servants cancel Christmas celebrations to please Muslims. A country where Sharia Courts are part of the legal system. A country where Islamic organizations asked to stop the commemoration of the Holocaust. A country where a primary school cancels a Christmas nativity play because it interfered with an Islamic festival. A country where a school removes the words Christmas and Easter from their calendar so as not to offend Muslims. A country where a teacher punishes two students for refusing to pray to Allah as part of their religious education class. A country where elected members of a town council are told not to eat during daylight hours in town hall meetings during the Ramadan. A country that excels in its hatred of Israel, still the only democracy in the Middle-East. A country whose capitol is becoming ‘Londonistan.’

I would not qualify myself as a free man. Four and a half years ago I lost my freedom. I am under guard permanently, courtesy to those who prefer violence to debate. But for the leftist fan club of Islam, that is not enough. They started a legal procedure against me. Three weeks ago the Amsterdam Court of Appeals ordered my criminal prosecution for making Fitna and for my views on Islam. I committed what George Orwell called a ‘thought crime.’You might have seen my name on Fitna’s credit role, but I am not really responsible for that movie. It was made for me. It was actually produced by Muslim extremists, the Quran and Islam itself. If Fitna is considered ‘hate speech,’ then how would the Court qualify the Quran, with all it’s calls for violence, and hatred against women and Jews?

Mr. Churchill himself compared the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Well, I did exactly the same, and that is what they are prosecuting me for.I wonder if the UK ever put Mr. Churchill on trail.

The Court’s decision and the letter I received form the Secretary of State for the Home Department are two major victories for all those who detest freedom of speech. They are doing Islam’s dirty work. Sharia by proxy. The differences between Saudi Arabia and Jordan on one hand, and Holland and Britain are blurring. Europe is now on the fast track of becoming Eurabia. That is apparently the price we have to pay for the project of mass immigration, and the multicultural project.

Ladies and gentlemen, the dearest of our many freedoms is under attack. In Europe, freedom of speech is no longer a given. What we once considered a natural component of our existence is now something we again have to fight for. That is what is at stake. Whether or not I end up in jail is not the most pressing issue. The question is: Will free speech be put behind bars?We have to defend freedom of speech.

For the generation of my parents the word ‘London’ is synonymous with hope and freedom. When my country was occupied by the national-socialists the BBC offered a daily glimpse of hope, in the darkness of Nazi tyranny. Millions of my country men listened to it, illegally. The words ‘This Is London’ were a symbol for a better world coming soon. If only the British and Canadian and American soldiers were here.

What will be transmitted forty years from now? Will it still be ‘This Is London’? Or will it be ‘this is Londonistan’? Will it bring us hope, or will it signal the values of Mecca and Medina? Will Britain offer submission or perseverance? Freedom or slavery?

The choice is ours.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We will never apologize for being free. We will never give in. We will never surrender.

Freedom must prevail, and freedom will prevail.

Thank you very much.

Geert Wilders MP

Via Diane West and the International Free Press Society

Robbery update

Strange noises off on the Parliament robbery.

Facts:
1) Bloke comes in with make up and wig
2) Holds up bank with what we understand to be a toy gun.
3) Disappears.
4) 50,000 Euros later discovered hidden "very badly" in the building.

Now think about the way in which the Commission was bigging up security risks, causing the normally sonambulent IFJ to get very shirty only the day before and some journalists and others are beginning to smell a rat.

The Instituitions are getting anxious about the rise of Eurosceticism across the continent, particularly in Germany and the East. They are also leaking like a sieve. The have a bad track record with journalists, the more investigative the worse - think the Tillack Affair.

Then suddenly a weird and failed robbery in the Parliament.

An excuse to crack down? Well that is what many here are saying, it is just too convienient.

Oh good God

Picture the scene,

The big day has finally arrived. The house has been scrubbed and decorated. The whole family is here. Mum and dad have finally been able to take some time off. And they're out in the kitchen, making sure that everything is just right. Dinner's bubbling away on the stove, and the kids are tearing into their presents while grandma and grandpa – fresh in from Spain for the event – look on fondly.

Gosh don't your cockles just simmer with delight? And how does this paradigm of the perfect existance occur?

You wouldn't know it, but the EU helps make happy, festive scenes like this possible.

Surprise!!! Please pass the sick bucket , somebody

Hat Tip
Open Europe

Everybody be cool! This is a robbery.

News just in

The ING bank in the Spaak building of the European Parliament has just been robbed. Apparently somebody just walked through security, wandered uinto the bank, threatened the staff (with what we do not know) demanded they hand over the cash. The cashier did. The thief then calmly picked it up and walked out off the building.

The Parliament security then dashed round the PHS building demanding that everybody lock themselves into their offices.

Me I think it was Tom Wise or Giles Chichester getting lost on their way to the expenses office, but I could be wrong.

Nigel Farage's response was this,

"Though delighted to hear that nobody was hurt during today's robbery, I suppose the Parliament might now understand how the British people feel".

He went on, "A day after the who EU institutional structure got excited about the prospect of long-legged blonde haired 'Mata Hari's' wandering around the place, a real live crime happened under its very nose. It really doesn't say much for the security system now does it?"

Update

EU Observer is reporting that the felon was wearing a wig and makeup... Nah, I reckon it was a chicken suit

Joe Borg is "ludicrous" and "crazy" by his own terms

Yesterday Joe (cy) Borg, the portly Maltese who is the Commissar for fisheries made a speech to the Fisheries Committee of the Parliament. He waffled on at length about this and that and then came up with this,

The most famous words contained in our proposal must be the words "recreational fishing". In some Member States our proposals in this regard have been misinterpreted alarming citizens that the Commission wants to start controlling
millions of hobby anglers and impose quota restrictions on them. This would obviously be a crazy thing to do, and it is therefore not at all our intention to implement such a ludicrous system. Let me make clear once and for all that the hobby angler who catches a few kilos of fish every time he goes out fishing and uses it for his private consumption, will not be covered by the control regulation, even if he catches fish like cod which is under a recovery plan.

Well hurrah, it appears that Article 47 of the Fisheries plan is to be kyboshed, dropped, hidden in the circular filing cabinet, left behind, forgotten; but, but wait a moment. The commissioner, and this is so regular that there must be a law governing it, lets call it,

"Towler's first law of Eurocracy: No EU plan is ever shelved, merely filed for re-use later"

Then said, in what must the fastest U-turn since Evel Knievel decided to brake at Dover, exactly the opposite.

There are however facts and figures in abundance that show that certain forms of so called recreational fishing have a dangerously considerable impact on certain vulnerable fish stock. We cannot just keep restricting severely professional fishing on those stocks but give the recreational fishermen a free ride. They have to contribute as well to the conservation effort. It is with this balance in mind that the Commission will approach the issue in the context of negotiations.

So will the real Commission poistion please stand up? Of course the Assembled MEPs were so delighted with that warm fuzzy feeling of success after the first paragraph, that they rather missed the second one.

It is nice to see that the Borg recognises himself as "crazy" and "ludicrous", it shows a modicum of self knowledge.

Picture nicked from http://www.meretmarine.com/

How far can a politician crawl up his own fundament

Apparently all the way. I give you perhaps the most self serving, deluded piece of 'Gosh. Aren't I wonderful' drivel that I have seen in all my time in Brussels. It even beats Nirj's "I survived the Tsunami, so don't worry", presser from a few years back.

Here is the Slovenian EPP MEP, Alojze Peterle and his extraordinary invitation.

Dear colleagues and friends,

At your request, I am going to give a lecture about my recent fasting for a whole month. I have abstained from food and drinks (except for water and fresh orange juice) for the whole month of January 2009.

I would like to share with you my reasons for fasting, the method I used and the results I have achieved from it.

I consider the decision to fast as the best one I have made so far this year. I feel that this experience has given me the important energy and strength I need for the looming European election campaign.

With pleasure, I would like to invite you to my presentation about fasting, on the 18th of February 2009, from 8am to 9am, room: ASP 5H-1.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

With kind regards,

Lojze Peterle MEP
(EPP-ED)

P.S. I kindly ask you to reply to: blocked::mailto:alojz.peterle-assistant3@europarl.europa.eu if you wish to participate.

Alojz PETERLE MEP (EPP-ED)
European Parliament

ASP 5F366
Rue Wiertz 60
B-1047 Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32 (0)2 28 45638
Fax: +32 (0)2 28 49638
E-mail: blocked::mailto:alojz.peterle@europarl.europa.eu

I would love to know who actually asked him to do this, and whether they were joking.

"the Commission had no intelligence capability of its own"

But we knew that... Ok a cheap laugh but these comments about intelligence infiltration of the European Commission need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

She confirmed media reports of the existence of a note circulated internally by the EU executive warning its staff that "the threat of espionage against the Commission is increasing day by day."

"In a number of countries, information-seekers, lobbyists, journalists, private agencies and other third parties are continuing to seek sensitive and classified information from the Commission,"...

"One example of such cover is that of a trainee, the second is that of a member of a national administration who is on secondment, the third is that of a technical expert on IT (information technology) matters," Rampi said.

"We are not only pointing the finger at the journalists. It could be the pretty trainee with the long legs and the blonde hair," she told the briefing.

Well, err lobbyists prowl all over the Commission, but I guess most are working for corprate or NGO (which of course generally means Commission) interests. Long haired trainees, hmmm...

Well in the past when it came to stagieires being divvied up betwen DGs and Units there used to be an unseemly auction amongst the Heads of Unit as they bid for the better looking ones, it appears that that system must have backfired.

Attached national experts. Now I remember a conversation that I may have referred to before in which it became clear that Geoffrey Van Orden, now a Tory MEP had operated on secondment to the Commission as an MI6 chappy. He was accused as such by Gen Phillipe Morrillion MEP and didn't respond to the charge. He describes his job there thus,

where he worked on a range of foreign and security policy issues

But others obviously have a different view see this Parliament report which describes his unit as the,

"'Security Aspects' Unit of DG1A"

Do I believe that the Commission has what Valerie Rampi delightfully calls,

no intelligence capability of its own

No I don't.

Clarity of language

This rather delightful invitation just came through,

"The European Institute of Public Administration is organising a workshop entitled “From Project Proposal to Final Report: Formal Writing in English for Public Officials”,

Which everybody must agree would be a splendid idea. For the trifleling sum of € 485 (plus €90 for the hotel) you can take part. For that money you get

Welcome and introduction to the workshop
Sylvia Archmann, Austrian Seconded National Expert, European Institute of Public Administration (NL)
Vera Zegers, Communication and Language Trainer, Maastricht (NL)

Theoretical introduction to formal writing in English
Going through a step-by-step approach to writing official documents

Vera Zegers, we are told "studied Linguistics, Theology and Intercultural Communication in Germany and Finland". She is "Proficient in three languages, she has vast experience in both the theory and practice of spoken and written communication. After having been the Head of the English Department at Maastricht University Language Centre for several years, she is now working as a freelance communication and language trainer".

Excellent, Sylvia meanwhile made it clear what the course was going to do for all those willing little bureacrats.

"The objective of this workshop is to give new tools to assist public officials in formal English writing through the entire process of project documentation. During this workshop, the features of effective project-related formal English writing will be explored, providing opportunities to experience new techniques for cooperative and step-by-step writing, to learn to avoid common grammar and style mistakes in formal written English, and to put new insights into practice.

This one-and-a-half day workshop will be organized on a flexible and interactive manner, largely depending on the interests and contribution of the participants."

Methinks that Sylvia might have to go on her own course. The above, I would not hesitate to point out, is hardly, ahem going to make life easier for use proles.

Panic in the bars of Berlyamont

It appears that some Commission fonctionaires are unhappy. Is it the general economic climate? No. Is it the prospect of a German Constitutional Court judgement that might kybosh the Lisbon Treaty? No - though I guess one or two are a little concerned.

What is it then? This...

Restaurants - Can't EUREST afford a 2nd 'Illy-suitable' espresso machine for the CHarlemgane Cafetaria?
Some time before Xmas EUREST removed one of the espresso machines from the CHAR cafetaria -probably also a Nickelodium like the ones in Berlaymont. After weeks with 'Café de conference' for the price of real expresso, EUREST came up with a tiny little swiss made machine 'Schäfer' that is absolutely useless. No Illy can be processed, no special preparations.

Unbelievable but true - even the normal EUREST coffee gets worse.

Result: Long queues in front of one (Illy suitable) selling place, almost nobody at the other. Recently it even looks as if EUREST would economise the person for the useless machine place.

I cannot imagine that in 21 century in Europe EUREST couldn't find an espresso machine capable to produce decent coffee for people that pay for.

Or is it just another step to make our canteens and restos unpleasant. In the meantime they are steeling (sic) the time of those that insist on certain coffee quality.
Would the OIB care for this?

Dammit, the world is really coming to an end.

(Shamelessly ripped of the internal discussion forum of the EU Institutions. Hat Tip - you know who you are)

Lord Pearson's response to the Wilders' ban

Would this have happened if Mr Wilders had said ‘Ban the Bible’?

Our western society, and indeed the majority of peaceful Muslims, are being intimidated far too much by violent Islamists. On this occasion, the British government is guilty of appeasement.

We do not agree with Geert Wilders that the Koran should be banned – even in Holland where 'Mein Kampf' is banned. We don’t want it banned but discussed – particularly by the majority Muslim community; and specifically as to whether it may promote or justify - or has promoted or justified - violence. We are therefore promoting freedom of speech.

Geert Wilder’s 'Fitna' film (available on the web) is not a threat to anyone. It merely suggests how the Koran has been used by militant Islamists to promote and justify their violence.

They react in fury and menace to our intention to show the film and have boasted that their threats of aggressive demonstrations prevented its previous showing in the Mother of Parliaments. This was not the case – the event was postponed to clarify issues of freedom of speech. The threat of intimidation in fact increases the justification for the film to be shown and discussed in Parliament and by the British and international press.

Indeed, any alleged threats associated with Lord Ahmed of attempts to prevent the showing of the film would themselves be a confirmation of the film’s message and the need for it to be shown.

The subsequent action by the Home Office to try to deter Mr Wilders from coming to the UK has, we believe, been rightly condemned by the Dutch foreign minister, and is a further example of the appeasement policies of the British government in giving in to the threats of militant Islam.

We intend to show and discuss the film with members of the British Parliament and the press as previously indicated, with or without Mr Wilders.

The press conference remains booked:

“The Koran and Freedom of Speech”

A screening of Fitna (2008 – 17 mins) ?

Q&A with Geert Wilders MP (Holland) ?

No. 1 Abbey Gardens

Thursday 12th February,

6:00 – 7:00pm

F******* hypocrites!!!!

Will somebody tell me how this was allowed to happen, when this wasn't.

It is a disgrace that Wilders is not allowed into the country while the traitorous Labour donor and Peer Lord Ahmed - yes he of the conviction for manslaughter - yet to be sentenced - is allowed to bring known terrorists into the HoC.

And this being done at the same time Jacqui Smith is defrauding the public.

For pities sake, we a s anation have to wake up to what is happening, if we do not, then far darker forces than we see at present will do so on our behalf.

I for one am not prepared to allow my government to leave us, as a nation with our trousers down and waving a tube of KY in the direction of our most private places.

Save the Planet... Save the planet

I note a press release from Godfrey Bloom MEP ridiculing this piece of absurdity from the Parliament,

From: ROMER Harald Sent: 10 February 2009 17:24To: MEP & ASSISTANTS

Subject: Participation of the European Parliament in the campaign "M'illumino di meno" on Friday 13 February 2009

COMMUNICATION TO MEMBERS

In the context of the fight against climate change, the European Parliament has committed itself to cutting down its carbon emissions by 30% by 2020. This is to be achieved through various activities, based on detailed studies, and under the political guidance of the Bureau.

The European Parliament is also participating in various activities which aim at drawing the attention of European citizens to this goal. In this framework Parliament takes part, under the high patronage of President Pöttering, in a campaign called "M'illuminio di meno" on Friday 13 February 2009.

"M'illuminio di meno", which aims at highlighting the necessity to save energy, is an initiative of the Italian radio Rai Radio2, supported by the Italian Ministry of Environment. By a simple act, using less light, the campaign aims at focusing the attention of the Institutions, media, and citizens of Europe on best energy-saving practices. The day in question, also called "Energy-Saving Day", falls this year during the European Week of Sustainable Energies.

Like the previous year, the European Parliament will play its part in this event by switching off all the outside lights and the maximum possible of inside lights in the buildings at Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, between 18.00 and 19.30. All of the Members and the staff in these three places of work and in the Information Offices in the Member States are invited to switch off, at the same time, the lights in their own offices.

For reasons of security, certain lights will stay on, even during this period of time.

The Italian initiative has in recent years extended to several famous European monuments and buildings such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Trafalgar Square in London and the Custom House in Dublin.

I would like to thank you for your support in this action, which demonstrates the engagement of our institution in energy-saving practices and in the development of sustainable energy.

Harald RØMER
Secretary-General

I will leave it to Godfrey to comment,

Godfrey Bloom MEP (UKIP Yorkshire and Humberside) today took the President of the European Parliament to task for his "pathetic" attempt to wrap himself in green credentials.

"The Parliament is going to turn off some of its lights between 6pm and 7.30 pm on a Friday evening after everybody has left work", said Bloom. "And this is how they aim to achieve a 30% cut in emissions? It would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic".

In a missive sent to all staff in the Parliament, Harald Romer, the Parliament's Secretary General on behalf of Hans Gert Pöttering the President, has asked that, "All of the Members and the staff in these three places of work and in the Information Offices in the Member States are invited to switch off, at the same time, the lights in their own offices."

"For the last 6 months all the lights in the new, unused building were blaring into the night, despite requests to turn them off and now this. It is a piece of shameless grandstanding and shows how little the institutions really care about energy conservation. But of course, why would they care, they are only wasting taxpayer's money after all", he went on.

"If they were to close down the pointless monthly trek to Strasbourg then we might see some real savings, but of course they wouldn't do that now would they", said Bloom.

Well I couldn't say it better myself

A tale of two lives

Via Dick Puddlecote,
Example 1, a life well lived,

She lived through two World Wars, rode a motorbike into her 60s and smoked right up until her 90th birthday. This week the family of Preston's oldest woman will pay their last respects to Hilda Nichols, who died on January 28 aged 107.

Example 2, maybe not as fun

Ronald M. Davis, MD, the immediate past president of the American Medical Association and a longtime advocate of healthy lifestyles and ending health care disparities, died Nov. 6 of pancreatic cancer. He was 52.

You pays your money, you take your chances. And then the great bearded one in the sky flicks his coin. Live every day as if your last and maybe it wont be.

EP sing-a-long-a-possibilities

An invitation comes spinning into my inbox today. Those nice people from Estonia are being very generous.

Presentation of a piano to the European Parliament as a gift from the Republic of Estonia

This will be fun. It is of course an invitation to all those with a hankering to tinkle some ivories after consuming just a little too much free fizz after one of the myriad sponsored events that litter the Parliament's evenings.

I predict a riot.

Ganley looks for a new home

According to the Parliament website Mr Ganley's problems are set to get worse,

On Monday, the Parliament's Bureau (comprised of its President and 14 Vice Presidents) had approved an application by Libertas to register as a "political party at European level". Since then, two of the signatories - Mr Igor Gräzin, Member of the Estonian Parliament and Mr Mintcho Hristov Kouminev, Member of the Bulgarian Parliament - have denied signing for the purpose of registering a political party at European level, thereby casting doubt on the validity of their signatures. Given the Parliament's legal obligation to verify that the conditions for registration are fully and properly met, on a continuing basis, the Conference of Presidents, which brings together the leaders of all the political groups, discussed this matter at its meeting today.

The Conference of Presidents asked the Parliament's administration to look into the issue in detail as a matter of urgency. The administration will contact all the European, national and regional law-makers whose signatures were submitted by Libertas, when it applied for the status of political Party at European level, in order to verify the situation. In the interim, the release of funds to Libertas has been put on hold. If the Bureau concludes that Libertas has correctly fulfilled the legal requirements, then its recognition as a European political party will proceed in the normal way.

I do hope that they were not expecting to pay for the swish offices in Euroville with the 200,000 euros off the Parliament, if so they better try to find some park bench in the Parc Cinquantenaire and sharpish.

Update

I am informed that Libertas have now signed up three more members so with two down it looks likely that their cash may well still be forthcoming. There again my information may be duff.

Madoff for it

Now here's a funny thing. At the Parliament's Bureau meeting on the 12th january, in the Huis Clos/In Camera section of the meeting this little item cropped up

16. Observation on the voluntary pension fund
The Bureau
- heard an intervention from Mr ONESTA, Vice-President, concerning the voluntary
pension fund and the possible impact on that fund of the 'Madoff' financial fraud case in the United States.

I wonder what that is all about. After all the MEP pension scheme is shall we say the source of some controversy already, and it just wouldn't do to think that the poor dears are going to be blown out by their investment policy. But that is alright, last time their was a hole in their bucket they filled it with a convienient unused part of EU cash (er tax payers cash).

Some fun alert

The European Parliament's election page is full of distinctly unbiased political reporting. It is a clear and clean description of the possibilities available to the electors of all 27 EU member states (not nation states mark you), as long as you discount the idea that people might not like the menu.

However they have a little widget that is a whole heap of fun.

If I were elected as an MEP, my first political priority would be...

Oh, go on, you know you want to. And I promise to ask for a full run down of the responses nearer to the ekection. Could make some magnificent reading.

So go on, have some fun.

This has to be satire, doesn't it?

Either that it is the authentic voice of the elite that govern us,

These striker racists must be arrested immediately! No mercy must be shown
to them! They must be made an example of and eradicated imediately IMMEDIATELY!

This is totally unacceptable behaviour by these upstart xenophobic Little
Englander peasants! Thyey must be put on trila and exposed and vilified as the
scum they are! Disgusting!

I am a European World Citizen so there!

Nah it has to be satire.

Watson has no idea, or news for that matter.

Knowing my deep and abiding interest in the presidential campaign of Graham Watson a friend decided to send me a couple of links.

First this one to the Watson Presidential campaiagn website - the news section. And what is revealed?

News
It’s vital that politicians speak up for their principles and reach out to others in pursuit of common goals. That’s the way to beat cynicism about politics, and confront euroscepticism head-on.
In this section, you will find my press releases, information about my activities, and some press comment about the work I do. They reflect my determination that the
EU should do a good job for its citizens, and that those same citizens should hear about the work their MEPs do.

Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.

Rather delightfully there are neither entries for 'Latest News' or 'Latest Events'.

But better still is the ideas page,

Evidently dear Graham has no ideas.

Though I hear he had a thouroughly good time at the Burns Night dinner the other week.

Oh and he is getting excited about launching a book. But of course the link to it goes to a 404 error page.

Note to Watson: Don't sent out adverts to your website, before it works.

Whoops... Ganley balls up

Last nighjt teh Bureau of the Parliament accepted what they saw as the inevitable and agreed that Libertas was a European Political Party. This meant that they were able to pass go and pick up 200,000 Euro.

And then the wheels came off. In order to set up the party what is required is 7 elected members at Euro, national or regional levels. One of these signataries was Igor Grazin and Estonian Liberal. Now he had voted against the Lisbon Treaty, but was a member of the Liberal allied Estonian Reform Party. When the ALDE discovered that one of their own had joined a different European Political Party they went, dare I say ballistic.

The net result is that Grazin has denied any involvement,

"Gräzin said that “none of Libertas's agenda” matched his position in the Estonian parliament or the Estonian Reform Party.

Thus some very red faces in the Libertas HQ in Brussels, plus desperate scurrying around here in Strasbourg to see if they can block the check.

The other signatories are
Philippe de Villiers: French MEP and leader of the Eurosceptic party, Movement for France (MPF).
Paul-Marie Coûteaux: Also a MPF MEP.
Georgios Georgiou: A Greek MEP and member of the Popular Orthodox Rally, a party that previously held anti-Semitic views.
David Alton: A non-affiliated member of the UK House of Lords, known for his Catholic and anti-abortion views
Timo Juhani Soini: a member of the Finnish parliament and leader of the anti-EU party, True Finns.
Hristov Kouminev: A member of the Bulgarian Parliament and nationalist party Attack.
Cyprian Gutkowski: A member of a Polish regional assembly and the League of Polish Families party, noted for its right-wing and anti-homosexual views.

Looking at Mr Ganley's friends... Paint me gobsmacked that David Alton is having anything to do with Attaka, the Bulgarian party that, when I asked what they thought about the gypsies said,

"Well... We don't advocate killing them"

The True Finns are pretty interesting as well

Farage wades into the British Jobs row

So now she is formally a traitor

The Rt Hon Baroness Ashton, for it is she yesterday formally announced her acceptance of he rules governing her appointment to the European Commission.

SOLEMN UNDERTAKING BEFORE THE COURT OF JUSTICE BY A NEW MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Formal sitting of 2 February 2009

Following the resignation of Mr Peter Mandelson from his duties as a member of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, by decision of 7 October 2008, acting in accordance with the Treaties, has decided to replace him for the remainder of his term of office. Baroness Catherine Ashton has been appointed a member of the European Commission for the period from 6 October 2008 to 31 October 2009.

The Court of Justice of the European Communities held a formal sitting at 12.30pm today at which Baroness Catherine Ashton gave her solemn undertaking in
accordance with the Treaties.

Of course what this solemn undertaking entails is this,

The Treaty articles on the Commission make special reference to the complete independence enjoyed by the Members of the Commission, who are required to
discharge their duties in the general interest of the Community. In the performance of their duties they must neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body.

The problem is of course is she has previously sworn her oath of allegiance to one HRH Queen Elizabeth the Second,

You will to your uttermost bear Faith and Allegiance to the Queen’s Majesty; and will assist and defend all civil and temporal Jurisdictions, Pre-eminences, and Authorities, granted to Her Majesty and annexed to the Crown by Acts of Parliament, or otherwise, against all Foreign Princes, Persons, Prelates, States, or Potentates.

So Cathy, can you serve two masters? Or should we take it as read that you are inconstant and do not understand either the seriousness of your Privy Council Oath or that which you so traitorously swore yesterday.

No doubt to you, as with much of your ilk a word of honour is merely that, a word. Worthless, fluid in time and without power. Power you so gratefully hoard to use against your fellow subjects. But words have within them great power, oaths such as these are near mystical for they contain within them them the very spirit of a nation.

Being ignorant of history you foist your ignorance upon us all.

But as the first oath you swore states,

So Help You God

Now it starts

German Troops Deployed to France

Why destroy a decent organistaion?

Wlliam Hague is a man who I have always had reat deal of respect, however he is getting worse and worse as teh Tories crawl and crawl toward governing us.

His latest suggestion is wrong in so many ways. As a Conservative he should not be supporting the growth of Tranzi organisations. As a Briton he should be supportive of the Commonwealth.

So why the hell is he trying to destroy something that could work for the common good of the Anglosphere?

The Commonwealth should take on more members to increase its influence, shadow foreign secretary William Hague is expected to say in a speech.
The organisation can act as a "bridge across divides of religion, ethnicity, culture and wealth, to the benefit of common humanity", he will add.

It seems that he feels that it should become,

"an "ideal conduit" for reform in the Arab world",

Now much of the rest of his speech is sensible and is accurate,

"Relinquishing our Commonwealth commitments is incredibly short-sighted and ultimately detrimental to the prosperity and sphere of influence of our country."

The shadow foreign secretary will add: "Commonwealth trade and investment now accounts for over 20% of the world total and there is the potential to increase this share further.

"There are huge economic benefits to be gained and Britain must capitalise on these opportunities.

"The advantages of commonalities in language, education, professional training and legal and financial institutions still often remain and it has been estimated that these create a 15% cost advantage over business with countries outside the Commonwealth."

but expanding beyond the commonalities would destroy everything good that it could do.

So what did you do when you were Europe Minister

According to the Western Mail, Peter Hain is a little confused about the 'British jobs for British workers' row.

Former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said it was a “puzzle” that foreign firms could bring workers over to the UK for contract work, pay their accommodation costs and remain within EU employment rules.
“This does not seem to me to add up,” he said. “The real answer to this puzzle [is] these contracts are sub-contracted all the way down the line to the point where nobody really knows.”

This chump wasn't just a former Welsh Secretary he was the Europe Minister. So how the hell can he be puzzled. This is him back when he was the Minister in 2002,

It is estimated that enlargement will create 300,000 jobs across the EU, including thousands in Britain, as companies take advantage of trade opportunities.

Enlargement will enhance co-operation, helping us to tackle problems that do not recognise borders, such as pollution, drug smuggling and people trafficking. My right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West was right. The same fears were expressed about the accession of Spain and Portugal. In fact, the reverse was the case. People went back to Spain and Portugal as those countries gained prosperity through membership of Europe.

So the Portugeese went home, and then came back. That is the wonder of the free movement of people, but how he can pretend he doesn't understand the problem beggars belief.

Either he has forgotten, is thick, or dishonest. Now I wonder which of these is most likely.

Murderers

Well sort of,

Those sad sacks at the subsidised wing of the anti smoking lobby ASH have demanded the death of some much loved characters,

ANTI-smoking campaigners want soap chiefs to kill off cig-puffing characters Deirdre Barlow and Dot Cotton.
They claim the shows “advertise” cigarettes without warning viewers of the danger of cancer.

Even better is the whining tone of he complaints,

“For Dot and Deirdre to get something like lung cancer would have a massive effect on the audience. The Government should be leaning on shows like this.”

And the Roy Castle charity’s chief executive Dr Rosemary Gillespie criticised producers for making well-liked characters smoke when ciggies used to be reserved for dodgy types.

Dr Gillespie said: “Soaps used to depict characters that were shady, or the annoying gossip types, as the ones that smoked.

God they are a miserable bunch of puritans.

"Somebody who does not fit our ideal of perfection was seen smiling... We will have to put a stop to that".

Hat tip Mr Puddlecote

The food police: EP styly

Tomorrow, the GUE/NGL group were going to have a bit of a slap up nosh for lunch. They had asked for their MEPs and staff to bring local specialities... But then they hit the buffers of parliamentary bureacracy,

Dear all,

As you know, tomorrow at 13:00 our group is holding its small "gastronomic meeting" with specialities from all our different countries.

The health standards laid down by the EP require us to draw up a list of our products, because of strict controls.

I have to give this list to the relevant service this afternoon at the latest.
Can you please send me by email a list of the products you have brought with you as well as their sell-by dates. This is also valid for drinks.

Sorry to disturb you with this, but without this information, we will not be authorised to organise this lunch.

Please find attached the invitation with the time of the event and the venue.

Have a nice afternoon.

Oh for Pete's sake... I wonder if their is a civil servant with the official role of poison tester?