633: Unbuttered Parsnips - Ukraine V

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Well there have been plenty of fine words expressed on the subject of Putin's blatant aggressive stance and actions in a country other than his own: Ukraine.

I am ashamed of the behaviour of the United Kingdom government; yes there have been a few stern words, but the breathtaking incompetence - the carrying of a document in public view, showing apparently this country's lily-livered position, is profoundly embarrassing and indeed, pathetic.

So far - as is always the case - only the US has actually done anything and as usual, Europe sleepwalks, wringing its powerless hands.  Pathetic.  And I doubt if NATO would ever actually do anything; I wonder how much NATO costs us? What's the point of it? And the UN is a talking-shop every bit as impotent as was the League of Nations in the 1930s.

The Tsar declares that the Ukrainian government is one of "fascists and anti-semites (rubbish);" he describes the Ukrainians as having carried out an "armed coup."  He is a liar, a bully and a fascist/NKVD/Chekist thug.  It was his puppet then in Kiev who ordered snipers to shoot down unarmed protestors.  Now he is metaphorically goose-stepping around, allowing his invading soldiers, and more sinisterly, some half-uniformed thugs, to attempt to provoke the Ukrainian soldiers WHO ARE ON THEIR OWN TERRITORY, into defending that territory.

Last night, I saw on the television, an interview with American senator Mr John McCain; I was pleased to hear him refer to the events of the 1930s in  Central Europe just as I did on this blog a few days ago; perhaps he is one of my readers?  And US Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry was fairly robust today. 

I should add that I groaned in despair at the sight of Russian-speaking Ukrainian citizens, gathered around a statue of that murdering tyrant Lenin, carrying Soviet flags; how stupid are these proles?  Have they never read a book? Have they never heard of the starving to death (by Stalin) of millions - yes millions - of their countrymen in the 1930s, all in the name of "progress" under that self-same flag?

Amongst the books I am currently reading is Sir Winston Churchill's first volume of his history of the Second World War, The Gathering Storm.  I now appreciate to the fullest extent that no-one ever seems to learn  the so-called "lessons of history." The book (written in 1947) is full of nicely-expressed (and apposite) sentiments, and I shall end this post with the following quote:

"Virtuous motives, trammelled by inertia and timidity, are no match for armed and resolute wickedness."*

Amen to that.

Until the next time.

*Sir Winston Churchill The Gathering Storm, Cassell 1949 p.171

628: Ukraine III

It is somewhat curious that over the last few days, the number of visits to this blog has plunged dramatically.  Could it be that with my 627th post concerning the two ghastly "holy warriors" who have been sent to gaol for a jolly long time, I have put people off?  Well I state here and now that I have no intention of moderating my opinions in order to make recognisance of their "(in)human rights."

So, on to today's rant.  This one concerns that megalomaniac, President Putin. 

What a neck this bastard has!  Does he imagine that we are so stupid as to believe that the Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine are in such danger as to justify the invasion of a sovereign state by 6000 soldiers and their associated armoured vehicles? 

I wrote recently on this subject in speculative mode, suggesting that Putin might be grinding his teeth in the face of the Ukrainians daring to throw out their president, whose personal corruption would appear to be sufficient even to discountenance an African politician.

Being well aware of President Obama's weakness and lack of resolve, decent bloke though he is (think about the Syrian "red line" poison-gas farce for example) and the remarkable ineptitude of the European Union, Putin probably feels that he can get away with this just as he did in Georgia in 2008; after all nobody did anything about that did they?

I was wondering today how it is that Russia with a GDP roughly the same as Italy's, and therefore about 20% smaller than that of the UK can afford her enormous armed forces.  I suppose that this is achieved by the simple expedient of keeping most of the population poor.

Give that man a Nobel Peace Prize!

Until the next time.

618: An Independent Scotland

I was much amused today by the ridiculous posturings of Mr Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party (= Labour in a Kilt).  I think that he is a little desperate.

The BBC news carried an extract in which Salmond said that "George Osborne" (Mr Osborne to you, pleb.) had "no right" to exclude Scotland from the pound sterling.

Bollocks.  It is the Treasury, not the politicians who have issued this ruling.  

In fact I doubt very much if the Scots would be foolish enough to seek independence.  Who will then pay for their outrageously generous policies?

His reaction to Signor Barroso, big chief of the EU, who stated that for an independent Scotland to join the EU would be "difficult" was even funnier. The increasingly unstable First Minister claimed that Scotland was already a member!

Sorry Mr Salmond; the UK is indeed a member, much to the regret of many British subjects; Scotland is not.

Time for the reality pills Mr Salmond; after all, I believe that prescriptions are free in Scotland are they not?

Until the next time

Wisdom from the Commander-in-Chief

President Obama yesterday:

"You probably want to see if you can fix what's broken in an important relationship before you break it off - makes sense to me."

Of course the President was referring to Britain's relationship with the European Union (my view coincides with that of UKIP); I have something else in mind - indeed a relationship which was supposed to be run on the very lines that President Obama expressed.

Is there something in the female psyche which interferes with, or impedes the keeping of one's promises I wonder?

Until the next time

Nigel Farage: Another Sound Man

Zerohedge.com today reports a speech in the European Parliament from Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party.  "Common criminals" he called them.  Robust I think.

Here's the link.

I should be interested to hear anyone's attempt to refute the substance of this speech.

Until the next time

Cyprus II

Just a brief one this time.

Well as I'm sure you all know the Cypriot parliament raised two fingers (or just one if you're a continental) to the EU in regard to the proposed €10 billions bail-out; not one MP voted in favour.  This of course because of the fear of bank depositors receiving what is popularly known as a "haircut."

Of course the blundering EU can only blame itself.

Meanwhile there's a lovely little story about a very wise granny, who beat the threat,

Please read it - it's great!

Until the next time.

Cyprus - That is The Greek Bit

I feel obliged to comment on current events in Cyprus, since my hostility to the Euro project is long-established and probably well known here.

However, it's tricky.  I've been following discussion forums and there is a great deal of hysteria to wade through - and a lot of opprobrium directed at Germany.

It is true that there is a general election looming in Germany, which must be a consideration, but I suppose since that since Germany is more-or-less keeping the stupid Euro afloat then Frau Merkel is entitled to have a say.

Just recently Latvia signed up to the Euro; these people must be barking mad.

And Cyprus is a sort of Iceland writ large.  Iceland's recovery is progressing because they simply said "piss-off" to their creditors - or at least to their banks' creditors; when you're not in the EU you can do that sort of thing.  Cyprus's economy has been running a large deficit whilst the bloated banking sector is about eight times the size of the national GDP; worse, it is stuffed with Russian money about which there is said to be the whiff of the laundry.

All I can say is that I'm glad that I do not have the job of sorting out the mess; if Russia (i.e. Putin) is upset because the bank accounts of some of the president's pals have received a haircut, perhaps they'll turn off the gas tap?

A € for the meter anyone?

Until the next time

$8,500,000,000

The sum which forms the title of this piece is the amount of money owed by Greece to the United Kingdom; I do not know how much is owed by the UK to Greece.

Even these days, when we are wont to talk of "billions" when once we spoke of "millions," $8.5 billions is a great deal of money, though Greece's indebtedness to France, at nearly $40 billions must be very worrying for the French.

I see that the Greek prime minister Mr Samaras, has remarked on "a breathing space" for Greece following the deal struck with the EU; Greece will now start to receive its next "bail-out" - which will total in excess of €40 billions, 23 billions of which will go to re-capitalising Greek banks.

Apparently part of the deal includes Eurozone creditors writing-off a substantial proportion of Greece's debt which currently stands at about 180% of GDP.  We must feel sorry for the French who will obviously be hit hard by write-offs. I have been very critical of all UK governments over the years, but I must acknowledge their wisdom at least in keeping us out of the accursed Euro.

It would be interesting to know who in his right mind would have loaned money to Greece in the first place; it is well-known that Greece massaged its accounts (i.e. lied) in order to gain entry to the Euro - back in 2001 - and the availability of low-cost loans in consequence have served to compound the country's insolvency. One must assume that presumably armed with such information, the lenders were in charitable mood at the time that the loans were made.

If they are still in that frame of mind, I wouldn't mind taking out a large loan myself - one that they can write off after 11 years.

Until the next time

The Backlash that shouldn't be...

The Daily Telegraph reports today that there is a "growing backlash" concerning the perks enjoyed by senior staff in the EU administration.

Apparently, these senior officials, earning between €104,000 and €185,000 per annum are entitled to three months off work on full pay each year. "Nice work if you can get it" was the sentiment that first sprang to my mind. However the article goes on:

Stephen Booth, of the Open Europe pressure group, said: "If the top ranks of the EU's civil service can take this much time off it raises interesting questions about how much work they're actually doing."

This is the bit that rattled me. If the "backlash" results in these overpaid parasites actually doing more "work" then on top of the ludicrous expense of this near-farcical organisation (which is bad enough in itself) we shall have to face up to an additional 25% damage caused by these bureaucrats. The more "work" they do, the worse it gets.

I say give them nine months' holiday each year!

Until the next time.

The Money Pit

There is currently a problem in the EU: that of approving next year's budget.

Officially, an increase of 6% has been requested, but MEPs are proposing 2.9% whilst according to this BBC article, a number of governments, in the throes of ruthlessly cutting their own budgets, are proposing leaving the EU budget at 2010 level.

I consider that to be more than enough given that the budget, according to this BBC graph, has increased nearly 40% over the last ten years:

As far as the UK is concerned, note the footnote about exchange rates. Using XE.com's useful historical chart, I find that in 2001 the pound stood at around 1.60 against the euro, very different from today's rate of 1.18. So in cost terms, the decline of the value of the pound has meant that the UK's contributions have become increasingly expensive, quite apart from the regular increases shown in the table above. Europhiles will blame this additional cost of course on the UK's refusal to sign up to the euro, but remaining with the pound has proved to be sensible, given the states of various European economies who have er, "benefitted" from membership of the Eurozone.

The BBC piece goes on to say that in the event of the budget not being approved (which seems likely) then the EU may not be able to afford to launch it's new diplomatic service ludicrously called the EEAS: The European External Action Service. The EEAS has been budgeted at €475.8 million. On top of the colossal corruption and fraud prevalent in the EU and widely reported for a number of years, who needs another 475.8 million wasted euros?

Please remember the case of Marta Andreason, former EU chief accountant sacked by the Welsh windbag, Kinnock - then an EU Commissioner, for drawing attention to financial "irregularities."

Kinnock and his wife did alright though: they weren't sacked, they're doing very nicely thank you very much. Gravy train 'socialists' the pair of them - like one of Kinnock's predecessors, Roy "Claret" Jenkins, Britain's worst ever Chancellor of the Exchequer and another EU Commissioner.

Will no one rid us of this parasitic nightmare?

Until the next time.

European Stuff

On 9th November, European President Herman van Rompuy gave in Berlin, the annual "Europe Address."

In the opening part of his speech he said:

"What is more, today is 9 November, a day of such exceptional significance in 20th-century German history. With its times of darkness but also of course with the joy of the fall of the Berlin Wall, so close to where we stand. The "Wall of Shame", the very antithesis of the legacy of Greece: democracy. At school I learned of Pericles' famous formulation of democracy in which "the affairs of State are not the privilege of the few but the right of the many"."

This is really rather tragicomical isn't it? Or have I missed something? Of course no-one except a few eccentrics I suppose, would like to see the re-establishment of the DDR for example and its repellent leaders such as Walter Ulbricht, nevertheless it was of course (in English) The German Democratic Republic, so as with the "Democratic Republic of Congo" in the words of Private Eye: "that's alright then."

Near the end of the speech Mr van Rompuy said:

"We have together to fight the danger of a new Euro-scepticism. This is no longer the monopoly of a few countries. In every Member State, there are people who believe their country can survive alone in the globalised world. It is more than an illusion: it is a lie!"

Very good Mr President; whilst I accept that Norway is a special case, owing to its oil wealth, good management and a small population, as I write this I am looking at Lake Geneva; I see no oil rigs and the desperate state of the Swiss economy (thanks of course to the Swiss population's democratic obduracy with regard to joining the EU) would of course be immediately ameliorated were the Swiss to sign up (ho ho). In this part of France, many of the French would simply love to have a job across the border - as many do.

According to XE.com, the Euro stands at 1.34049 Swiss francs. A year ago the rate was 1.50. As Bliar once remarked it is essential to be "at the heart of Europe." I wonder did anyone ask him why?

So Mr President I don't agree: it isn't a lie - at least in many cases - excepting of course those who have crucified themselves with the Euro - Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and of course Ireland. Of course the Euro isn't directly to blame for the world economic crisis, caused by greed and over-confidence and in certain cases I believe criminal activity, but membership of the currency with its strict rules (now largely ignored) cannot be helpful.

As for Ireland, the BBC report on rumours, not denied by the Irish government, of the country seeking bail-out from Brussels, includes some comment by one Joe Lynam in which he says:

"Now that talks have begun with Eurogroup officials, Ireland has the embarrassment of pressing ahead with day-to-day management of a country still officially Europe's third richest [...]"

Where did he find that piece of information I wonder? The table in this Wikipedia piece gives far more realistic numbers; especially interesting are the figures for GDP per capita for those non-EU members, Norway and Switzerland.

They cannot survive alone in the globalised world, can they Mr President?

Until the next time

UPDATE

Here's the latest from the BBC on the Irish economy and Europe.

Another Laughing-Stock

It was only a few days ago that I wrote a piece about how a country or state can make itself a laughing stock. Being the way I am, I inevitably included my usual suspects: Zimbabwe, North Korea, China and so on. I made the point that all such a state has to do is to adopt some crackpot ideology - e.g. extreme Islam, extreme nationalism, Stalinist Communism etc.

Well today's Daily Telegraph reports that a Super-State is (again actually) making itself a laughing-stock. The Super-state is of course the European Union and the ideology utilised this time is political correctness, another of my pet "hobby-horses."

Unbelievably - to me at least - these crazy people want to ban such words as "Miss" and "Mrs" and of course their equivalents in other European languages such as "Senora" and "Senorita" and "Madame" and "Mademoiselle." All language it seems shall be "gender-neutral" in future.

The reasoning? Well it seems that it is thought that female members of the European Parliament (MEPs) might be "offended" - that damned word again.

I am furious that anyone who might be occupying a seat in the European Parliament should be so incredibly stupid as to be offended by the use of words such as those mentioned above. I am also furious that such a stupid initiative should be yet another charge on the taxpayer resulting from the insane regulations that continue to be issued from Brussels.

The article points out that every pair of rubber boots sold in the EU must be accompanied by a "User Manual" - printed in 12 languages!

Imagine: first a page telling the owner not to burn the boots and to dispose of them in an environmentally-responsible fashion, blah blah. Then a list of the multifarious organisations that have declared the boots (no doubt at vast expense) fit for use. These pages of tedium would perhaps be followed by illustrations showing how to put on the boots and perhaps how to walk in them.

Potty, absolutely potty.

Until the next time