Total Politics (Indeed!)

Total Politics has an article on Sharon Bowles, LibDem MEP, currently chair of the economic and monetary affairs committee of the European Union.

"The Lib Dem MEP is a hugely powerful and yet virtually unknown British politician. She has had far more impact on our legislation than your average Westminster politician."

And that my friends is why the whole concept of the European Union is fatally flawed - that a virtually unknown politician should have had - and continues so to do - far more impact on our legislation than could a Westminster politician surely shows that we most definitely are not a self-governing nation!

That the EU, together with our own political elite and media, don't wish us to know just how much our lives are 'controlled' by the EU is surely the greatest insult yet suffered by man in any democratic process.

Now can we please get the hell out?

The Albion Alliance Presents

INFORMATION.

Information is power, we all know that, but until now in the UK the politicians and the media have had a virtual monopoly on information coming out of the EU, and on the way in which it is shaped and presented.

Well that is about to change. The Albion Alliance have set up a site to bring you information and news direct from Brussels, as soon as possible after it is published, and wherever possible, in its raw state.

No bias, no spin, no editing, no shaping or nudging, just raw data from all the main agencies of the EU. The president, the European Council, the Commission, the Directives, Regulations, Acts, Opinions and Decisions, the Committee of the Regions, the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Economic & Social Committee, the European Ombudsman and even news about SEPA. (what’s SEPA I hear you ask!)

Read it raw, make your own mind up. The politicians are going to hate us.

As the system settles down, more links will be added to give an even wider picture of what is going on around the EU. The layout and font will not suit everyone, but what The Albion Alliance are providing is information, not presentation.

There is a list of categories down the left hand side, where you can check for specific news not on the front page, there is also a list of databases in the documents link, where you can search for EU documents directly and they even bring you the latest Statutory Instruments from the UK Parliament so you can see our own Government turn EU law in to UK law whilst they and the media spin you a line.

Want to check out all those Euromyths, now you can search for the original documents and decide for yourselves (if you can navigate the purposefully complicated cross referencing systems), but its there, all for you to use.

There are even tabs at the top explaining how EU law is made and a list of all the main EU agencies with links to their sites for your reading delight, or distain. Few realise just how many areas of government are already controlled by Brussels.

The Albion Alliance is not gone, despite the best efforts of some, it is back with gusto with a view to providing the means for people to educate themselves about the EU rather than having to rely on the biased media, if and when they mention the EU at all. A reference point to counter the Government Nudge.

Since its launch yesterday, the European Commission and the European Parliament have been crawling all over it, no doubt they and many UK politicians would rather you did not access EU data in this way, so please, give this new Albion Alliance site your support. You are not a number, you are a free people. Make use of this information.

Cross-posted from IanPJ on Politics

Wadda Y'know 'Bout The EU?

Want to know what the European Union is?

Want to know how it works?

Want to keep abreast of EU 'pronouncements' as they happen?

Want to know what all the various institutions and agencies are doing?

Want to keep abreast of all the Directives, Regulations and Opinions that flood our country - with which we have to comply?

Want to really know why we are not a self-governing nation anymore?

Then here is your source.

Councils Allowed To Discriminate On Their Housing Lists?

Conservative Home reports that:

"Councils are to be given more power to decide their own waiting list criteria for social housing. Instead of it being entirely "needs based" they would be allowed to take into account those with "local connections" and to reward those who had got off welfare and into work.............So another day and another piece of radical localism from the DCLG"

Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states:

"It shall combat social exclusion and discrimination............"

Bearing in mind that Member States share competence with the European Union, under Article 4 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in the areas of social policy for the aspects defined in this treaty; that under Article 6 the European Union shall have competence to carry out actions to support, co-ordinate or supplement the actions of Member States in the protection and improvement of human health and culture; bearing in mind also Article 8 which aims to eliminate inequalities; Article 10 in which the European Union aims to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, etc etc................

It would seem rather unlikely that this idea will come to fruition as it seems it will flounder on the same rock as did Gordon Brown's 'British Jobs for British Workers' - and, pound to a euro, surely an email will land in Shapps inbox along the lines of 'Err, excuse us but.......'

Have the Coalition got themselves into a bit of an 'Eric' here?

Lest We Forget

Jenny McCartney, in her weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph, has an article subtitled "War veterans must wonder at the use we make of the freedom they fought for" in which she discusses the case of Wendy Lewis - she of the 'urinating on a war memorial' fame - and the protest mounted at the entrance to the court by a group of war veterans. She ends her article:

"The dwindling band of veterans are fighting another war now, the war against forgetting. They remember how they bought us freedom, at a vast cost. But when they contemplate the nasty, senseless capering of fools..........you could forgive them for questioning what we're doing with it."

Of course the war veterans to which Jenny McCartney refers are those of World War I and II, however it is worth remembering that countless people have given their lives, through the centuries, fighting for the freedom of our country.

When writing about the "nasty, senseless capering of fools" we must not forget our elected representatives, the vast majority of whom have indulged themselves in giving away a great number of the freedoms for which those countless people gave their lives.

In the United Kingdom Rememberance Sunday is the second Sunday in November, the Sunday nearest to 11 November, at which HM The Queen lays a wreath at the Cenotaph, accompanied by the leaders of our political elite. Our political leaders are thus supposed to be honouring those that fought to retain our freedoms. Perhaps their brains have not registered the fact that their political acts should not therefore dishonour the dead!

Kinda makes that ceremony a bit of a sham - does it not?

Eyes Shut, Ears Blocked & Brains......Err What Brains?

As I believe we all know, Harriet Harman's Equality Act - which received its Royal Assent in April - forces all government departments to undertake an impact assessment on the likely outcomes for ‘protected’ groups in society before implementing policy.

First though allow me to digress......Little Harriet is, as I am sure we all know, on a personal crusade on behalf of women and women's rights, equality etc - as long as she remains 'top dog bitch'. Unfortunately, that does not extend to a level playing field where her husband, Jack Dromey, was seeking a parliamentary seat. The Telegraph reported back in August last year that he was 'being lined up' for a safe Labour seat (another 'digress': do note all her children, the Telegraph reports, have the surname 'Harman' - so much for equality) and the Guardian reported in February this year that Dromey had been shortlisted for a safe Birmingham seat, that previously held by Sion Simon. Note also the opposition he faced from the other three candidates on the short list - two local councillors and one ex-councillor. Contrary to my assertion that a level playing field was not extended in the case of Dromey, it has just crossed my mind that he may well qualify on the basis of being brain-challenged - look at who he chose to marry.........

Anyway, back to the point of this post. One has to ask where the Conservative Party were when this Act was going through Parliament as I do not recall much 'opposition', or noises of dissent, eminating from that quarter. 

The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for sexual equality, has deposited papers at the High Court questioning whether the Treasury and related departments met their statutory duty to undertake a gender inequality impact assessment on the provisions of the Budget, on the basis that the bulk of the cuts will affect the minority sections of our society. The High Court is shortly to adjudicate and a decision in favour of the Fawcett Society would create one hell of a headache for the Coalition, who have argued that the budget must be enacted or Britain faces ruin. Also the Coalition cannot say they were not warned as Theresa May, in her position as Minister for Women and Equalities, wrote to George Osborne - and copied to Cameron and others - reminding him of the need to meet the demands of the Equality Act. It is possible that George Osborne, believing that Theresa May was just covering her back, promptly tossed the letter into his bin. No doubt there will be a mad scramble to repeal Harriet's Equality Act, but one has to ask why have the Coalition allowed themselves to be 'cornered' in this way. This would seem to be an example of the classic situation whereby the light was on but no-one was at home!

The irony is that if the Coalition win the day then the cuts will affect all members of society*, including women, the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transexual groups and thus fully (see footnote) comply with the Equality Act - an outcome which I doubt Harriet had considered.

* Well, probably not all sections of society - we must remember that MPs do of course have their perks like cheap food and booze with some of them having their second homes paid for them.

Why Is The NHS Considered 'A Sacred Cow' - Time For The Abattoir?

The Guardian reports on suggested changes, apparently let 'slip' by Andrew Lansley, to the NHS Direct telephone line. Discussing the proposed 'trial' of '111' the report states:

"People can dial 111 to get health advice and information about out-of-hours GPs, walk-in centres, emergency dentists and 24-hour chemists."

 So why can't people dial their 'out-of-hours' GPs for health advice and information? Why cannot information about 'out-of-hours' GPs, walk-in centres, emergency dentists and 24-hour chemists be published on local authority websites and advertised in the local press? Why are we spending £123million on a 'service' which could be provided for £millions less? What is the point in providing a 'service' that is supposed to offer medical advice with fewer 'trained-medical staff'? How can the Department of Health state that the new service will be cheaper, yet also admit they have no idea of the actual cost?

"The NHS has been told to find up to £20bn of savings by 2014, even though the health service is due to see rises in its budget in the coming years. This is because of the increasing demands from an ageing population, new drugs and lifestyle changes such as increasing obesity."

The 'problems' 'highlighted' are not just due to the reasons given, but also due to the increased population, - an increase due in no small measure from uncontrolled immigration from EU member states? Do, by the way, note that the latest 'scare', obesity, is also introduced into the discussion!

For far too long we have been 'blighted' by both the LabCon parties, when it is their turn to 'govern', introducing 'ideas' - and ideas without any foundation - which conform to either adherence to the latest 'pressure group' that has caught the government's 'ear' or the imposition of an 'idea' that it would seem some political 'wonk' has had - or is the brainchild of a minister.

What has been the result is that successive governments have 'tinkered' with the system, only for those plans to be overturned by the next government 'incumbents'. As the ideology of both parties is at such variance, it has resulted in 'squat-diddley' at the end of the day.

Of course, this has resulted in a situation whereby we are also attempting to maintain a system, designed 65 years, ago to work in the modern world - an ideology akin to continuing to run our roads whilst ensuring that every vehicle is preceded by someone carrying a red flag! Encapsulated in this ideology is also the idea that the NHS is a 'sacred cow', one whose operating system cannot be altered. It should be recalled that the same 'operating idea' was also held when considering British Rail and British Leyland - to name but two - and all the other 'state-owned' institutions that politicans have 'dreamed up'.

Can this problem with the NHS ever be resolved? The short answer must be in the negative as we have a cat's chance in hell (or a wheelie-bin) of ever so doing whilst we remain a member of the EU. Yet another pressing reason why we should get the hell out of the EU – and also get some serious thinking done about a growing 'time-bomb', which if unresolved, will surely bankrupt our country.

Just thinking, on a quiet Friday night.................

Tory Outing 'Shock'

The Conservative MP for Reigate has announced the end of his marriage due to his wish to come to terms with his homosexuality, reports Conservative Home. According to another report in the News of the World, Crispin Blunt was married in 1990 and has a son and daughter.

The report ends:

"The decent course to take in these circumstances is to wish Crispin, Victoria and their children well. The comment thread on this item is closed."

Cynical it may be, but I do wonder why such an announcement was made, late on a Friday. Might this just have been due to the fact he was to be 'outed' in a Sunday newspaper? I also believe it an affront to the intelligence of the public that Conservative Home can write the sanctimonious crap that they have in their last paragraph and, in the process, ensuring that no comment is permitted. The only people for whom I have any sympathy is his wife and children.

To be perfectly blunt - this whole episode stinks!

Its All Greek

Open Europe press summary today advises that "The Greek government has discovered that millions of euros have been paid to deceased pensioners" linking to this report in the Guardian.

So then, it seems that the game of poker is not the only example of 'dead money'!

Thursday 26th August 2010

Posting will be suspended until tomorrow afternoon due some intensive work on a lease problem that has arisen,

Apologies to all readers.

One Law In, One Law Out - Well, Not Quite

The Coalition made much play of their desire to  'pare' laws and in so doing reducing costs to business and trumpeted the headline 'One In - One Out'.

Courtesy of IanPJ on twitter we are alerted to this website which reports that "The European Commission has modified the Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD) that would require member nations to make it compulsory for energy efficiency ratings to be published in all homes for sale advertisements beginning in 2012." In actual fact this was notified in a press release by Brussels on 13th November 2008:

"With the proposed changes energy performance certificate becomes a real, active energy label of houses. For instance, the certificate has to be included in all advertisements for sales or renting. Also, the certificate with its energy saving recommendations has to be part of the sales and renting documents. Inspections of heating and air conditioning systems will advise consumers to use better these appliances or improve their operation, even replacing if need be. Member States have to ensure a good quality of the certificates and inspections."

(the content of which being something I don't recall the previous administration - or our 'watchful' media mentioning. Odd that we have to get our EU news from America, isn't it)

Now it seems we will be having another quango created to administer the system of inspections and also the compliance with this addition to the Energy Performance and Building Directive, together with the explosion of new rules and regulations that will result.

Those 3,000 Crimes........

Both Douglas Carswell and Mrs. Rigby have posted on this story in today's Mail and it also relates to my preceding post.

"Most of the new offences were slipped into law on the say-so of quangocrats without being debated in Parliament, it found."

WTF is going on here? So we have unelected lawmakers? Taken a leaf out of the EU's book then! And then, to cap it all, as Carswell says we have a quango deciding that those 'laws' should be treated as fines rather than subject to court proceedings.

FOI requests were supposed to allow members of the public to question public authorities on their performance, systems and procedures - which doesn't seem to have had much effect in this particular case.

On the subject of laws - and digressing slightly - Ed West has a post on what has been termed the 'landmines' left by the previous administration. One question that immediately arises is, in relation to the Act which Ed West cites - and also to these laws that were initiated without the ability of Parliament to debate them - where the hell was our Opposition, that same group that now forms our government?

A certain well-known lady was fucked some time ago - and the fucker has obviously decided that if she has been, then we may as well be!

The Law Is Above The Law

Or so it seems, according to Inspector Gadget who reports on some anomolies in the attitude of our 'boys in blue'.

Since when were the police empowered to ignore decisions made by a Minister of State?

"we are still spending money printing tens of thousands of glossy leaflets, advertising the now scrapped Policing Pledge and Public Confidence agenda, to every household in the shire."

"The Home Secretary has told Chief Constables not to set up internal bureaucracies to implement, monitor and audit central government targets. However Ruralshire Constabulary and at least 30 other forces have specific teams, made up of police officers, who ‘manage’ police performance targets."

Some will say that the sooner elected police chiefs are introduced the better, however the burning question is exactly what powers will they be granted by our political dictators? More importantly, what say will we have in the powers granted - Oh sorry, bloody silly question that last one!

Root & Branch Reform

Politicians today talk about 'root and branch' reform when discussing any problem, as if that is the cure to any of the problems we face - yet the one 'root & branch' reform they never mention is that required of our society. Eamonn Butler of the Adam Smith Institute has a thought provoking post on the Coffee House, which is well worth a read. Discussing the break down of family life, he writes:

"But it will take more than giving married couples a few tax breaks to restore traditional family relationships. Certainly, incentives are important and at the moment we are taxing the things that we want more of (like work) and subsidising the things that we want less of (like single parenthood and worklessness)."

This 'taxing' and 'subsidising' thingy has now become so ingrained in the political mind - and that mind so concerned about equality and diversity - that it will take a seismic shift before any change of ideology occurs.

Then of course there is the big, big problem of immigration, yet another subject where 'root & branch' reform is dramatically required, but cannot be undertaken as we as a country have no authority so to do. As I have posted before, the political elite are guilty of social engineering, of changing our society in ways that even they did not imagine.

Forty and two years ago a politician - one who's knowledge and intellect surpassed any of his time - gave a speech for which he was vilified and branded a racist. For a history lesson surrounding the background to this speech watch this video (with the remainder in the series notated in the right hand side bar). That speech was so prophetic, as history has shown, yet unfortunately not one of the political elite of that era paid heed to the words spoken - nor have those that have followed. However the public opinion expressed then here and here, is still being expressed today.

The political elite have tinkered, changed, re-written and bastardised just about every facet of our society - be that health, education or law and order - to the extent that they have dug a hole, are still digging and have now reached such a depth that even they are unable to escape.

There are those in the blogosphere who believe one simple fact and express it so - that our country is fucked and that a re-run of 1642-1651 is necessary. The good news is that today it should only take a week or two max - on the basis that between 1642-1651 they did not have the use of lamp posts!

Chloe Smith - Fact or Fiction?

A correspondent has sent me this article from the Norwich Evening News in which the 'baby of the House' gets some nice, free political publicity the chance to tell her constituents what she has been doing.

Unfortunately it would seem that young Chloe does not appear to have read 'The Coalition - our programme for government' which mentions quite often the need for 'transparency' and 'honesty', because had she, she would not be telling 'porkies' like this:

"Last year I was elected straight from a job working for the private sector to a high-profile role working publicly for about 70,000 people......"

Loss of memory in one so young is worrying - it seems she has forgotten this:

"She flags up her experience as a management consultant for Deloitte on her website, saying it has given her "a lot of valuable experience". However, she is currently on secondment at Conservative party headquarters where she says she is helping to "draw up detailed plans to put our policies into practice. In fact her Conservative connections are well rooted. After leaving school, she worked for former Education Secretary Gillian Shepherd who was then MP for Norfolk North, whom she describes as "a real mentor."After graduating from York University with a first in English literature, she also worked for former Conservative vice chairman Bernard Jenkin and is now registered as an assistant to James Clappison, a shadow work and pensions minister."

Hardly going straight from the private sector to becoming a Member of Parliament?

Lass, do stop spinning - you're making me giddy!

Wait For It............

With the 'outing' of 'Cat Bin Woman' - and bearing in mind this story - presumably the RSPCA will be starting another prosecution, with the preceding interview being held on police premises?

It beggars belief that the police can find time for 'babysitting the RSPCA' when they have far more important matters to which they should be devoting their efforts.

And We Are A Self-Governing Country?

Those that maintain the above statement is true need, in modern parlance, to 'get a life', especially when considering a few items that have appeared recently.

Exhibit 1: Courtesy of IanPJ on Politics comes this article which reports that "four European countries are blocking a proposal that could save Britain’s 1.6 million smallest businesses as much as £400 million a year. France, Belgium, Spain and Italy are obstructing a move to allow member states to exempt so-called micro-firms from a European directive on accounting standards. This is despite the exemption having been proposed by the Commission and approved by a vote in the European Parliament."

Exhibit 2: Open Europe press summary reports that "the European Commission is considering a proposal to introduce stricter consumer protection rules for mortgage loans, which would impose extensive information obligations, warning obligations in advertising and the imposition of standardised contracts. The regulations would also affect construction loans. A comment piece in the paper argues “what Brussels now does under the banner of consumer protection, raises the fear for extra costs of bureaucracy, which will raise the cost to build."

Exhibit 3: The same press summary from Open Europe also reports that "The Sunday Express noted that a directive has been presented to the European Parliament calling for road pricing, or taxes, for lorries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The Department for Transport has already announced the Government’s commitment to introducing a lorry road user charge. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond ruled out a similar scheme for other vehicles but could be outvoted in negotiations with EU partners."

With the advent of the Lisbon Treaty, which has given the EU the power to basically do what the hell it likes, it is obvious that the expansion of the power they have knows no bounds. As The Boiling Frog posts "In essence the EU's founding father Monnet was too clever by half, he fatally underestimated the laws of human nature; when you create a system where the unaccountable in control feel comfortable, when they feel safe, then it becomes natural that they greedily want more power and abuse the power they've got. And eventually there's only ever one outcome." 

It should be remembered that there is no 'slippery slope' towards the loss of liberty, there is only a long staircase down which we the people are being led by our 'toy politicians' in our 'toy parliament', slowly, step by step in the hope we will not notice. It should also be remembered that those that lead us down that staircase are immune from the vast majority of the laws they pass, thereby being able to remain at the top of the staircase, due to their inflated salaries and perks.

One last point to remember: once that first step is taken then that is the start of the loss of your liberty and freedoms - and we in Britain are nowhere near the bloody bottom of this staircase yet - so how about we start the climb back?

Threat To Warships Raises National Security Fears

So headlines an article in the Financial Times (log-in may be required) in which it states that Britain’s national security will be undermined over the next decade because the number of surface warships possessed by the Royal Navy will decline to levels well below those deployed a decade ago, according to an independent study.

I appreciate that Ronald Reagan is quoted quite often on this blog - and this one is pertinent, albeit Reagan was, at the time, comparing the state of readiness to Pearl Harbour:

"We're in greater danger today than we were the day after Pearl Harbor. Our military is absolutely incapable of defending this country." (my emphasis)

But hey, worry not people - we have no country to defend and for that we can thank our membership of the European Union!

 

The Biggest Oxymoron In The World*

David Cameron, William Hague et all are Conservatives.

* With apologies to Gracie Fields!

Virgin On The Truth

Goodnight Vienna, over at Calling England, has a post in which she writes:

"On the one hand we have youngsters who have no concept of the word 'virgin' but at the other we have people who remember what words like 'gentleman's agreement', integrity, honesty, law-abiding meant. There's an enormous gulf between government and the people now. State education has taught our children things we didn't want them to know and omitted the things they should know. It's a mess, and that's why no current politician or quango will ever be able to make it better. It's also why the older generation should group together and 'gather rosebuds' before it's too late and remind generations of what they have lost. It's time to remind the government that we won't put up with this loss of civil liberties any more."

Goodnight Vienna is so right on every point she makes, for example:

"Its a mess and that's why no current politician or quango will ever be able to make it better" - as Ronald Reagan said: "Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them."

or;

"State education has taught our children things we didn't want them to know and omitted the things they should know" - and why? Because politicians have frigged around with our education system so much and purely as a result of the slavish wish to follow the ideology prevailing at the time, without the benefit of proof that that ideology was sound.

or;

" There's an enormous gulf between government and the people now." And just who has created that gulf by their prolifigacy with our money to boost their lifestyle? By their belief that once elected, it gave them virtual carte blanche to do as they liked, regardless of the will of the people? By their total abrogation of the responsibility to consult the people of this country prior to giving away what amounts to our birthright? By their policy of social engineering, resulting in an influx of immigration to the extent we no longer recognise our own country?

or;

"It's also why the older generation should group together and 'gather rosebuds' before it's too late and remind generations of what they have lost. It's time to remind the government that we won't put up with this loss of civil liberties any more." which means that it is us - the older generation who must be joined by those younger who do know what the meaning of 'sovereignty', 'honesty', 'truth', 'integrity' democracy, and 'gentlemans agreement' actually is - to whom will fall the task of re-educating our nation; of restoring a belief in that nation and its natural place amongst the leading nations of the world; of restoring that level of 'fair play' and 'common sense' for which this island was renowned; of reminding those we elect that they are not 'top dog' and in fact it is us, that they are but the tools to implement what we the people want; that we have reverted to being a self-governing nation, beholden to no other; of reminding the rest of the world that we wish to be left to live in peace, but that those who dare attack us will receive more than the proverbial 'bloody nose'; of reminding the world that our Parliament is regarded as the 'Mother of Parliaments' and that from this moment on it has reverted to that status; that this island is indeed a green and pleasant land and one that will be an example to others once again.

In other words people - I think it is time for the revolution to begin!


This post was inspired by this!