Terrorists Saved From Bankruptcy

There are few areas of business that Middle Eastern countries are true world leaders in. It is therefore a great decision on behalf of the EU to support the one sector in which the region has a true global competitive advantage.

The European Union yesterday offered £83 million to help the Palestinian Authority despite the recent election victory by terror group Hamas.

Fans of exploding teenagers everywhere will be heartened by this. Unfortunately not all of this money will be available for purchasing semtex, much will be paid to UN or other third party programmes.

Around £11.9 million would go to the Palestinian Authority to "relieve the pressure on the caretaker government" and help pay salaries.

I’m sure that the Hamas supporters who are to replace all the existing workers will be very happy to hear this. In fact, it could fund innovative programmes to reallocate workers to other duties. Exploding in restaurants being one of them.

Though Shalt Not Offend Threatening Bullies

The Foreign Ministers of EU member states, added a new commandment to the Aquis Communitaire yesterday:

"Freedom of expression should be exercised in a spirit of respect for religious and other beliefs and convictions. Mutual tolerance and respect are universal values we should all uphold,"

Now call me a Fascist if you will, but personally I have had enough of this “Respect” thing. If someone belongs to the Flat Earth Society, do I have to respect his belief? What about a communist, who defends the worst of Stalin’s atrocities? What is different about a religious belief, from any other? I respect everyone’s right to have beliefs different to my own, I tolerate idiots and bigots spout nonsense about the topic of their choosing. But respect? You have to earn that. Meanwhile, though upsetting people is not allowed, using cash extorted from taxpayers to fund terrorist organisations is fine. Did someone rewrite the rules of the universe while I wasn’t looking?

Get Them Young, Keep them for life

Anyone who thinks that letting the state loose on our kids is a good idea, obviously doesn't read the list of subjects that NEED to be added to the cirriculum, coming from pressure groups of all types. Education is politicised and gets more so all the time. The latest to jump on the Bandwagon? Jacque Chirac:

Lessons on the European Union to give secondary school pupils in all 25 member states an "apprenticeship" as Europeans, are being proposed

The First Crook of the Republic is not content to steal our cash, he also wants to steal our children.

The proposal is one of more than a dozen drawn up by President Jacques Chirac's government to create new "momentum" with a "Europe of projects". French officials hope that some could be brought to fruition in the coming months using existing EU treaties.

No doubt the British Government will put up a stiff war of words before totally capitulating. I would love to introduce a course "The State is a Parasite" to all schools in Europe, I'm sure it would be of much more value, but then of course as The State is in control of the Department of Juvenile Brainwashing, I doubt I could get it accepted.

Sponsor a Terrorist, Please give Generously

With competition in Global Terror at an all time high, many terrorist organisations are finding it hard to make ends meet. Of course they could hold sponsored Infidel Decapitations, or go door to door, but that just doesn't raise enough money. So what is a Respectable Market Leader in Exploding Teenager Services suppose to do? It needs a Tranzi International Organisation to provide it with funds. All in the interests of peace, of course. Luckily for Hamas, a highly respected provider of "dead school children" and "burning restaurants", such an organisation exists.

European Union foreign ministers are expected to continue providing millions of euros in aid for much-needed funds to the Palestinian caretaker government today.

So in answer to my oft repeated question, can the EU get more illogical and immoral than the CAP? Unfortunately they can.

European Institute of Technology

In the ever losing fight to make Europe competitive, The Eurocrats have decided that they need a University to compete with the best in the world.

The European Union should create its own institute of technology by 2010 to rival the United States, Japan, and emerging economies in research and innovation, the bloc's executive said on Wednesday.

Because we all know that Eurocrats are great at this kind of thing, and are bound to succeed. After all the EU is well on its way to the Lisbon Target of "most competitive economy in the world". The problem is of course, they will want it to be both elite and egalitarian, a mix that is similar in the ranks of possibility to a kosher pig. In fact, its true that Europe's universities are failing to compete, but does anyone seriously think that Brussels is best placed to combat that?

The Euro is Great

If someone typed: The Euro is Great into a search engine, would you expect The Road to Euro Serfdom to come in at number 6? Neither would I but guess what, it does. Some other curious one:

1. wot is the european union: 1
2. evil American corporations: 1
3. danny cohn bendit: 7

More Expected Ones:

1. i hate europe: 3
2. euro failure 4
3. serf farming: 8

Lets hope they all found what they were looking for.

Don’t Give Them an Inch

I have often wondered about the people who campaign for things like the metric system. I would personally never think of campaigning for the imperial system. I totally support the spirit of the metric martyrs; theirs was a campaign for the freedom to choose. But believe it or not, there is such a thing as The UK Metric Association, which campaigns for total metrification of the UK. Message to all of them: get a girlfriend, take up a hobby, jump off a cliff or just take Valium. Why waste your lives on such a pointless issue? Now they have released a report saying “Britain should set an early date for converting its road signs from miles to kilometres” The Reason?

The imperial signs are a "confusing" exception as most of the UK officially operates in metric measures, it claims.

They don’t think that millions of motorists might find road signs in a measurement they are not used to more confusing? Or do they really think that motorists are now so used to buying butter by the 500g that they will adapt to Kilometres like a CAP subsidised Duck (Raised indoors of course) to water? The former Eurosceptic, but current EU mercenary Kinnock is quick to jump on the band wagon. (Where he was joined by a Conservative Dead Sheep).

Ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock, who is backing the report, says the UK's imperial signs contradict its modern image. "They contradict the image - and the reality - of our country as a modern, multicultural, dynamic place where the past is valued and respected and the future is approached with creativity and confidence."

Even by EU standards that’s a pretty pathetic argument. It is however perfectly within the normal socialist worship of the concept “Modern”. Modern meaning in this context anything that irritates normal people or is socialist in its philosophy. The funny thing about all this is that it is EU inspired. Those worthless people beavering away in Brussels on more ways to make our lives difficult, are actually insulted by the thought that we drink pints and travel at miles per hour. They are so wrapped up in their authoritarian ways that they actually think it is their duty to change us. Pathetic isn’t it. In fact, its so "sodden blanket, water is dripping all over the floor, wet", that even The Guardian is taking the piss.

It is not necessary to invoke the searing Eminem movie 13.54 kilometres, nor the awe-inspiring jazz trumpeting of Kilometres Davis, nor the fine Proclaimers' song I'm Gonna Be (804.67 kilometres), to argue that if we were the UK Metric Association, we wouldn't start from here.

What can I add to the wisdom of The Guardian? (Never thought you'd read that did you?)

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Over at Right Links, we have launched a Blog Campaign to raise awareness of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill. This bill is a piece of illiberal rubbish, totally unsuitable for the country that developed parliamentary democracy. We have decided to ask a number of questions about the bill, of which the two below are the most relevant to this Blog:

1. Why does the Bill change the current procedures for the enactment into our law of EU legislation?
2. What guarantees are there that the Bill could not be used to bring in the EU Constitution by the back door?

What is being sold as a way of cutting red tape, actually looks more like a way of speeding up the process of passing EU directives and regulations into UK Law. Please join the campaign, blog about it and write to your MP. legislative regulatory

Spines & Brains Made of Jelly

The latest words of wisdom on “The Cartoon Crisis” from the great leaders of the Union of European Socialist Republics, comes from the Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini.

Frattini`s position, which also appears to have the backing of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, is that journalists must impose a form of self-censorship in order not to offend the sensibilities of Muslims, and other religious groups.

No doubt, when the journalists fail to censor themselves, a helpful Directive will be prepared to lend them a hand. His wisdom was demonstrated to be immeasurable by the following comments:

It was 'unwise' for European papers to republish the cartoons just three days after the victory of the militant Islamist group Hamas in Palestinian elections and following recent remarks about Israel and the Holocaust by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Take hold of head, remove from behind. Surely the time when freedom to discuss the threat to our way of life from extremists is most important is when the threat seems to be growing. It is precisely because the Iranian President is a psychopath and The Palestinian Government is a group of terrorists, that this issue of free speech is so important. With leaders like Frattini and Solana, what hope is there for Western Civilisation?

Anti Dumping

Why is it we have to rely on the Danes to stand up to those trying to remove our rights.

Bendt Bendtsen, Danish Minister of Economic and Business Affairs, has written a letter to the FT complaining about antidumping duties:

In my view anti-dumping policy should not be used to counteract globalisation and increased competition, if there is no need. Anti-dumping measures can be taken only if convincing proof of unfair competition can be found and if it is in the wider interest of the European Union.

Too right, it should not be used as a protectionist measure.

He gives the example of Chinese Shoes

The total gain for the EU producers is just above €100m a year if an anti-dumping duty of 40 per cent is being levied on leather shoes from China and Vietnam. For the consumers and the user industries in the EC the total loss can be estimated to approximately €975m per year.

Despite this almost 10 to 1 ratio, what is the betting that producers have the bigger and better lobby, and are therefore able to punish the rest of us.

The Services Directive

It was supposed to liberalise services across the EU, leading to a truly free market in services, a way of producing, so we were told, 600.000 jobs. It was decried as a dirty capitalist plot, a way of destroying social cohesion and wrecking the social model. Socialists even called it the Frankenstein Directive. Yet it has been accepted by the Notoriously Backward European Parliament. What has happened. In the words of David Rennie

If this was such a blow for free markets, why, exactly, was the Tory in charge of shepherding the directive through the parliament, Malcolm Harbour MEP, being given manly hugs by Martin Schultz, head of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, and Robert Goebbels, a Lefty from Luxembourg?

From the Latest Open Europe pamphlet (PDF), we get a glimmer of an idea as to why the left wing beasts of Brussels might be in celebratory mood:

Article 5 (1b) Member States, in conjunction with the Commission, shall introduce, where appropriate and feasible, harmonised European forms. Those forms shall be equivalent to certificates, attestations and any other documents concerning establishment which demonstrate that a requirement has been met in the Member State of destination. Article 16 (4) By five years after the entry into force of this Directive at the latest, the Commission shall, after consultation of the Member States and the Social Partners at European level, submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of this article, in which it shall consider the need for proposing harmonization measures regarding service activities covered by this Directive.

Like previous directives and treaties that have come before, they purportedly set out to create free market reforms, a truly liberal Europe. After coming under intense attack from the supposedly Consensus Politicians of Europe, the measures end up rather different. They become another reason to stifle business and to remove freedom of action, yet another step along the Road to Euro Serfdom. This is not an entity that can be reformed, no more than a Scorpion can be trained not to sting. Its purpose is to create socialism in Europe, and no amount of reform effort will ever change that.

An Enabling Act

The Mother of Parliaments is having such a difficult time passing all the legislation required by Our Dear Leader and his tyrannical masters in Brussels, that he has decided that an enabling act is the only option.

A Bill To Enable provision to be made for the purpose of reforming legislation and implementing recommendations of the Law Commission, the Scottish Law Commission and the Northern Ireland Law Commission; to make provision about the exercise of regulatory functions; to make provision about the interpretation of legislation relating to the European Communities and the European Economic Area; to make provision relating to section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972; and for connected purposes.

It’s a boring thing to read, I know, but please do read it, it makes for chilling reading. They want to neuter parliament and let decisions be made by ministers. Ministers of course owe their positions to the Dear Leader, who is not know as a believer in cabinet Government, so basically we will have an elected dictatorship.

Aland, Big Enough to Stand up to the EU

One of the reasons that we can’t leave the EU is that we are too small and weak to stand on our own. We need the security of the community. It would take a real superpower to go it alone in these scary days. Like Aland for example:

Thanks to a quirk of early 20th-century history, Aland's 26,000 people are essentially sovereign co-rulers of their home nation of Finland. As such, they can veto any international treaty that Finland wants to enter, including EU treaties.

Well with a population of 26.000 I guess anything is possible:

Low public opinion on Europe could mean Alanders prevent Finland from ratifying the constitution.

The Alanders have their reasons:

1. First, this community of Swedish-speaking Finns lost the right to fish at sea with traditional nets.
2. Then Alanders saw their beloved spring duck hunting virtually abolished.
3. To the Alanders' final outrage, local laws on consuming "snus" or Swedish chewing tobacco, are about to be quashed by the European Court of Justice.

Just the normal EU trying to force us all to wear the same straight jackets.

The head of the Aland government, Roger Norlund, put it like this: "Aland finds small-scale solutions to its problems. But the EU model is one of large-scale solutions, and harmonisation."

I Wish Sarkozy was British

Great piece about Nicolas Sarkozy in the Telegraph. The political future of France indeed. I wish we had a politician or two of his calibre.

Common Foreign Policy

Javier Solana likes to see himself as the EU’s foreign Minister. The EU constitution would have made his dream a reality. So it’s just as well it was rejected, because this is his idea of a good foreign policy.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is lobbying for the United Nations to include language against blasphemy in the tenets of a new human rights body and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he supported the idea.

So let’s get this straight:

1. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is apparently aware of something called human rights. (surprising given some of their track records).
2. They don’t think that it includes the right to may drink if you so wish, or that choice of partner should be free or that women are actually human and therefore worthy of rights.
3. They think that the right not to be upset is a Fundamental Human Right.
4. Worst of all, a man who supposedly speaks for us, supports this perverted idea.

Solana made the following statement:

"We have been talking today on how we can send a message to the people in both communities, the Islamic and European, that we need this not to happen again ... We strongly hope that people will be now sensible to understand that,"

So next time someone upsets you, burn down an embassy or two, threaten them with a beheading and the EU will treat you with respect. They will even try to protect you from those with whom you disagree. Is this a hint to us Eurosceptics?

Mittal, The Indian Raiders

The bid by Mittal for Arcelor has once again awakened the most xenophobic and ignorant sections of the European political tribe. They have been rushing to find ways of stopping this take over, mainly due to the colour of skin of the bidders owners.

The bid has sparked objections from the governments of France, Luxembourg and Spain and from labour unions, who are worried about job losses even though Mittal has assured that no worker would lose job and cited all his operations in various countries had not resulted in retrenchment.

So there can be no real reason to try and stop the bid, other than economic nationalism and Xenophobia.

The Government of Luxembourg, a shareholder of Arcelor, will soon rush through a bill aimed at thwarting Mittal's hostile bid. Luxembourg's finance minister Luc Frieden has said the bill adopted an amended version of a EU takeover directive that will allow a besieged company board to take drastic action to repel a hostile takeover without seeking prior consent from shareholders.

Readers will recall that the Government of Luxembourg is beyond reproach, a fervent believer in a Greater Europe, and backer of the defunct constitution. They are always quick to denounce those Xenophobic Eurosceptics. They only have good intentions, I am sure.

EU promotes classroom entrepreneurship’

When I read this headline, I suppressed a great urge to guffaw. The EU to promote entrepreneurship?

Europe’s children need entrepreneurship lessons to help the EU compete in the world economy, the European commission said on Monday.

Just two recommendations on this idea.

1. Give entrepreneurship lessons to those working in Brussels, including Commissioners
2. Focus education on actually teaching kids to read.

What next, Syria to give lessons on freedom of speech?

What To Do With 4 Billion Bottles of Wine?

The phrases “piss up” and "in a brewery” come instantly to mind.

The European Commission is convening an emergency wine summit to tackle the European Union's surplus of four billion bottles, which swallows up €1.2 billion to €1.6 billion (£810 million to £1 billion) of taxpayers' money each year.

How anyone can have a problem with too much wine is difficult to understand. But the issue is that subsidies have created incentives for producers to make wine that even students wouldn’t drink.

The growing popularity of "new world" wine is another blow to European growers when consumption is falling in most of the EU, except Britain. Yet Union farmers seem determined to produce poor-quality wine.

So apart from the obvious and logical answer, stop subsidies, what is a Eurocrat to do? How about sending a few cases of the stuff to all of the unmarried or married but currently childless couples in the EU. That way we get rid of the stuff and hopefully partly solve the demographic problem at the same time.

EU Gives Up on Freedom of Speech

Following the extreme and violent reaction across the Muslim world, to the publishing of the cartoons, the EU has decided to act. Will they ask members to withdraw ambassadors from Syria, will they freeze aid to countries that condone violence, and will they stand up for freedom? Of course not, this is the EU.

The European Union may try to draw up a media code of conduct to avoid a repeat of the furor caused by the publication across Europe of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

If in doubt, muzzle the press.

The code would be drawn up by the European Commission, the EU executive body, and European media outlets. It would not have legal status.

Like all the other ideas that emanate from Brussels. It will not have legal status until everyone has been strong armed into agreement. In the EU, the concept of fundamental rights includes the “right to union representation” but not apparently, the right to free speech. Also posted on Rightlinks

Harmful Tax Competition

The EU seems to be bullying Luxembourg once again, over the issue of tax.

European Union regulators said on Wednesday that they would investigate Luxembourg's tax exemptions for multinational companies, saying they might offer a disguised subsidy to attract foreign investment.

What next, they will investigate whether not forcing workers to work less than 40 hours per week is a subsidy. Look for investigations into the wags paid in Eastern Europe, a clear subsidy if you ask me. Why can they not just accept it? Low taxes make sense.

A Loaded Question

Over at Conservative Home, Martin Sewell asks a loaded question:

Does a country with access to a national and international heritage of culturally sensitive Common Law still need to be tied to a European Standard? Is not the sub-text that we cannot be trusted to protect our own people’s rights without supra- national intellectual oversight?

Judging by recent performance, I'd say our leaders can be trusted, but giving that power over to a supra national body brings the words, pan, out of, fire, into or something like that.

Family Business

Some of those who are ardent Europhiles, have undoubtedly come under the spell of some idiot potion or other. The others, are just out to get what they can:

Not so long ago, Neil and Glenys were arch critics of Europe. Not any more now Lord and Lady Kinnock have more reason than most to thank the Euro dream because, in one way or another, the entire family is being financially supported by it.

Despite now sitting in the House of Lords, Neil Kinnock is still required to support the EU, to protect his, £63,900-a-year EU pension. His wife Glenys, makes £57,000 a year as an MEP and can claim around £100,000 in expenses. Their Daughter in Law, Helle, an MEP and leader of Denmark's social democrats. at Brussels, earns £40,000, as well as the same allowances as her mother-in-law. Finally, Rachel Kinnock, their daughter, has recently joined her mother’s staff. Son Stephen prefers to milk the taxpayer more directly, in his job with the British Council. So is it any wonder that they are Pro European? (Details taken from the Daily Mail, which requires subscription)

Screwed Up Immigration

We are all familiar with the stereotype of the Indian doctor. But, the unemployed Indian doctor? That's a new one.

At the last count, there were over 6,000 overseas doctors who had come to Britain in the past five years in response to calls by the National Health Service (NHS) for foreign medical staff. But most of them are still unemployed.

Do we doubt that the country could use 6.000 extra doctors, all of who have passed language and competence exams? I certainly don't. So what has gone wrong?

Preference is now given to doctors from the European Union and since its enlargement, a large number of them continue to come here.

So we shun those already here and instead encourage more to come. Somehow I don't find that very logical.

Too Big to Move

Europhiles are always complaining that letting countries keep vetos in certain areas leads to inertia. The EU is unable to develop. Take those Poles for instance:

Last week Poland reinforced the worst fears of the EU’s founding members, as it fought a week-long and ultimately successful battle to secure special value added tax arrangements for its building sector.

No word whatsover on why we should all charge the same VAT on everything. Europhiles don't consider such things.

There is frustration at the unwieldy decision-making process in the EU, especially where the rule of unanimity applies, including tax, the EU budget and foreign policy.

Simple solution. The EU steers clear of those areas. We don't need to harmonise them at all.

Our Dear Leader Changes His Mind

Man of integrity and truth that he is, it would be wrong to question Mr Blair’s motives. But what could make him change his mind on the Constitution?

In a moment of candour looking back on his eight years as Prime Minister, Mr Blair effectively disowned the treaty which he signed up to along with other European Union leaders, claiming that it failed to address the concerns of European citizens.

Why that would worry a politician is a puzzle. They make careers out of failing to address the concerns of ordinary people, a problem which is at its worst at European Level.

He said that on both the single currency - which Britain did not join - and the constitution, which was effectively killed off by voters in France and the Netherlands last year, the EU had put a "political decision" before getting the economics right.

But there in lies the problem. Getting the economics right, simply means free trade, something which can happen without the malign influence of the EU. But then the EU never was an economic project, was it? Not that Our Dear Leader will change his mind on that. Like all our spineless politicians they prefer to stick to the lie that the EU is about economics, unlike their counterparts elsewhere who are more forthcoming.

Subsidies For Sale

From Open Europe:

On 20 January a ground-breaking "auction" of EU CAP subsidy entitlements was held in Inverurie in Scotland. The auction attracted over 400 people, with a further 40 people buying or viewing online. The auctions look set to become a regular event with two more planned for 3 and 17 February.

The rules for subsidies are now so stupid, that it is possible for people who have nothing to do with farming, to buy the right to them. This is the unseen result of cutting the link between production and subsidy.

Farmers who have retired or moved abroad since 2002 can still claim subsidies - often up to tens of thousands of pounds - provided they rent a hectare of land and meet the European definition of a "farmer" at the time of transfer.

It doesn’t matter how you change the system, free money attracts vultures. The only option is to scrap the whole thing.

Tory Radio

If you want to contribute to a new Conservative project, then Tory Radio could be the thing for you.

French Naval Vessel is Hazardous Waste

The French government is to feel the weight of the EU and its protectionism environmentalism. Brussels is investigating France’s decision to send the ageing Clemenceau aircraft carrier to be scrapped in India amid concerns that the move contravenes European Union waste shipment legislation. Ships are ripped apart by hand in India and Bangladesh, a dirty and dangerous business, but a welcome source of jobs for the poor souls that do it. But the EU is not pleased: Those rules stipulate that it is forbidden to export EU waste for disposal in third countries to protect the environment of those countries. Imperialism at its best. Shouldn’t the recipient countries be making that choice?

Daft and Ideologically Ridiculous

The Conservative Party leadership says it is determined to press ahead with leaving the European Peoples Party, despite resistance from some MEPs.

The former leader of Tory MEPs, Edward McMillan Scott, has dubbed the plan "daft" and "ideologically ridiculous"

That sounds like fighting talk to me. It also sounds something like the blathering of a loony. What is ideologically ridiculous is the idea that a party whose members are predominantly suspicious of the EU, can be part of its biggest fan club. But the Quisling continues:

Mr McMillan-Scott said earlier: "Withdrawing from the EPP is not only daft, but it would break a Conservative manifesto pledge to maintain the link until 2009, so Mr Cameron is in effect threatening to deselect those amongst us who would honour the manifesto by refusing to leave the EPP."

Because we all know that every Conservative Voter was going to vote for another party until they heard about the EPP. “They are federalists? Excellent, I never liked my Country in the first place”. In addition the Wonder Boy is apparently being extreme:

He accused Mr Cameron of only pushing for the break to appease eurosceptic supporters on whom he relied for election and said the new Tory leader appeared to be "working towards the centre at home and yet moving to the extreme right abroad as fast as he can".

Because wanting National Independence is extreme right I assume. Funny that back in the 1940s, extreme right was what supporters of national independence were fighting against. Clearly Mr McMillan-Scott is someone whom we should do our best to get deselected at the next opportunity. In the meantime, you can send him a mail as part of the Right Links campaign. For a suggested message and his and other MEP’s details, Go here.

Who’s The Boss

Many Europhiles like to claim that we hairy backed, calloused knuckled Eurosceptic exaggerate the level of control that the EU has on us. Well in the area of financial services, we are most certainly doing no such thing. From a conference brochure:

Over 80% of UK regulations emanate directly from Europe and with the Financial Services Action Plan bringing harmonised regulations across the European Union, no firm in the UK can ignore its impact.

Europhiles, will no doubt continue to ignore its impact, claiming something or other, backed up by a few meaningless clichés.