Mr. Blair today reiterated his call for EU reform when addressing the EU Parliament. His speech appears to have fallen on fertile ground amongst many Europeans. However, it is amazing to me that nobody has pointed out the fact that for years now, Mr. Blair has been telling us all how good Europe is for Britain and our economy.
Now he is telling us that Europe is in a mess and urgently needs reforming! Come on Mr. Blair, who are you kidding? You cannot have it both ways. The French, Dutch and others are seiously dissillusioned by the so called "European project" as underlined in their referenda on the proposed EU Constitution. Mr Blair, it seems has only just found out how deep the "merde" really is! How can anyone take anything he says seriously?
Backed into a corner by Mr Chiraq on the matter of Britain's rebate, Mr. Blair has seen an opportunity to embarrass his French tormentor, hoping that no one will pick up the contradiction in his former stance on Europe. Well, I have a message for him. We've rumbled you Mr. Blair and some of us have seen through you for years. Your elbow is attached to your arm by the way.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Merci Monsieur Chiraq
It's not often the British or at least a sizeable chunk of them have reason to thank French politicians but the "non" vote against the proposed so called European Constitution is one of them. So thank you Mr. Chiraq for running such a scaremongering and negative campaign. Thanks also to the socialist anglophobes who hate the Anglosaxon penchant for liberal global trade principles. You have succeeded in killing off the nightmare of a centrally controlled, anti-democratic socialist superstate without any help from us and we are grateful for that at least.
We would have voted against it too but for an entirely different reason. We simply want to retain our sovereignty. We wanted to remain a country and not a county of Europe. Thanks to your "no" vote you may also remain a country. You will continue to be governed by a democratically elected French citizens rather than unelected eurocrats, whose only interest is the feathering of their own nests and ever larger expense accounts.
Who would have predicted this result five years ago? Irony lives on and so does European democracy, however quirky it may be. That is all to the good and one in the eye for the "elitist" bureaucrats, who would love nothing better than to run the show for their own benefit. Thanks to your hatred for all things Anglosaxon, we have got our way. Salut mes amis!
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
We would have voted against it too but for an entirely different reason. We simply want to retain our sovereignty. We wanted to remain a country and not a county of Europe. Thanks to your "no" vote you may also remain a country. You will continue to be governed by a democratically elected French citizens rather than unelected eurocrats, whose only interest is the feathering of their own nests and ever larger expense accounts.
Who would have predicted this result five years ago? Irony lives on and so does European democracy, however quirky it may be. That is all to the good and one in the eye for the "elitist" bureaucrats, who would love nothing better than to run the show for their own benefit. Thanks to your hatred for all things Anglosaxon, we have got our way. Salut mes amis!
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Where is our sovreignty now?
How the faceless European politicians in Brussels are trying to drag the U.K. down to their level! Where is our sovreignty now?
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to scrap Britain's fiercely guarded opt-out from the EU's 48-hour maximum work week, reopening a long-running ideological battle with London.
The European Union legislature voted by 378 to 262 with 15 abstentions to abolish after three years a provision under which governments can allow firms to ignore the limit.
Britain, which regards flexible labour laws as vital for economic efficiency, voiced dismay but said the vote was only a stage in a complex legislative process and the proposals would now go back to the executive European Commission for revision.
"We are very disappointed that they have taken this decision," Employment Minister Gerry Sutcliffe told BBC radio. "I think that the European employment ministers ... will accept our position."
A coalition of Socialist, Greens and Christian Democratic lawmakers voted to tighten the rules on working time in the name of health and safety, endorsing a report by Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas that said the opt-out had led to major abuses.
Members of the Labour party in the EU assembly defied Tony Blair to vote with the abolitionists despite intensive phone lobbying by cabinet ministers.
"The force of the argument was such that every one of the Labour MEPs ... pledged to vote with the Socialist group on this," Labour MEP Stephen Hughes told Reuters.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said the revolt in Strasbourg showed Blair was losing his grip on his own party, which was re-elected last week with a slashed majority.
The Trades Union Congress says around 3.75 million people in Britain work more than 48 hours a week, among them junior hospital doctors in the National Health Service, truck drivers, workers on North Sea oil rigs, and many managers.
QUALIFIED MAJORITY
Member governments must approve a final version of the legislation by qualified majority in the EU Council, and Britain will need to put together a blocking minority of several countries if it is to preserve its opt-out.
"It will only be agreed if parliament, the member states and the Commission can agree on the same version," a British spokeswoman in Brussels said.
Commission spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein said the EU executive did not agree with parliament's bid to scrap the opt-out 36 months after a new law comes into force, and would maintain its proposal to allow individuals to opt voluntarily to work longer where there was no collective agreement.
London hopes for support from new ex-communist east European member states who oppose stricter labour laws.
Right-wing Polish MEP Konrad Szymanski said in a statement: "Today's vote is a black day for the European enterpreneurship. In its shape approved today, the directive would become one of the most economically harmful elements of the European law.
"They have decided to impose the worst legacy of the French and German economies on those countries which do not want that, such as Poland, Britain and Ireland."
The Confederation of British Industry, an employers' group, said abolition could cost millions of jobs and urged the government to stand firm.
"There is no place for handcuffs in a competitive economy -- as long as employees work in safe conditions and have freedom of choice they should also have the freedom to work, " CBI director-general Digby Jones said in a statement.
"Reports of widescale UK employer abuse of the opt-out are grossly exaggerated ... How can Europe possibly hope to compete with the likes of China and India in the 21st century global economy?" he said.
In another headache for governments, parliament voted that all on-call time should be counted as working time, endorsing a 2003 EU court judgement which said that even if doctors were asleep when on-call, it still counted.
The European Commission had proposed that doctors could no longer count time spent on call in hospital as working time if they were not actually deployed, an effort to ease the burden on governments and the health sector.
The assembly did give some leeway, suggesting that inactive parts of on-call time could be calculated differently to comply with the 48 hours maximum working week.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to scrap Britain's fiercely guarded opt-out from the EU's 48-hour maximum work week, reopening a long-running ideological battle with London.
The European Union legislature voted by 378 to 262 with 15 abstentions to abolish after three years a provision under which governments can allow firms to ignore the limit.
Britain, which regards flexible labour laws as vital for economic efficiency, voiced dismay but said the vote was only a stage in a complex legislative process and the proposals would now go back to the executive European Commission for revision.
"We are very disappointed that they have taken this decision," Employment Minister Gerry Sutcliffe told BBC radio. "I think that the European employment ministers ... will accept our position."
A coalition of Socialist, Greens and Christian Democratic lawmakers voted to tighten the rules on working time in the name of health and safety, endorsing a report by Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas that said the opt-out had led to major abuses.
Members of the Labour party in the EU assembly defied Tony Blair to vote with the abolitionists despite intensive phone lobbying by cabinet ministers.
"The force of the argument was such that every one of the Labour MEPs ... pledged to vote with the Socialist group on this," Labour MEP Stephen Hughes told Reuters.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said the revolt in Strasbourg showed Blair was losing his grip on his own party, which was re-elected last week with a slashed majority.
The Trades Union Congress says around 3.75 million people in Britain work more than 48 hours a week, among them junior hospital doctors in the National Health Service, truck drivers, workers on North Sea oil rigs, and many managers.
QUALIFIED MAJORITY
Member governments must approve a final version of the legislation by qualified majority in the EU Council, and Britain will need to put together a blocking minority of several countries if it is to preserve its opt-out.
"It will only be agreed if parliament, the member states and the Commission can agree on the same version," a British spokeswoman in Brussels said.
Commission spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein said the EU executive did not agree with parliament's bid to scrap the opt-out 36 months after a new law comes into force, and would maintain its proposal to allow individuals to opt voluntarily to work longer where there was no collective agreement.
London hopes for support from new ex-communist east European member states who oppose stricter labour laws.
Right-wing Polish MEP Konrad Szymanski said in a statement: "Today's vote is a black day for the European enterpreneurship. In its shape approved today, the directive would become one of the most economically harmful elements of the European law.
"They have decided to impose the worst legacy of the French and German economies on those countries which do not want that, such as Poland, Britain and Ireland."
The Confederation of British Industry, an employers' group, said abolition could cost millions of jobs and urged the government to stand firm.
"There is no place for handcuffs in a competitive economy -- as long as employees work in safe conditions and have freedom of choice they should also have the freedom to work, " CBI director-general Digby Jones said in a statement.
"Reports of widescale UK employer abuse of the opt-out are grossly exaggerated ... How can Europe possibly hope to compete with the likes of China and India in the 21st century global economy?" he said.
In another headache for governments, parliament voted that all on-call time should be counted as working time, endorsing a 2003 EU court judgement which said that even if doctors were asleep when on-call, it still counted.
The European Commission had proposed that doctors could no longer count time spent on call in hospital as working time if they were not actually deployed, an effort to ease the burden on governments and the health sector.
The assembly did give some leeway, suggesting that inactive parts of on-call time could be calculated differently to comply with the 48 hours maximum working week.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Can You Imagine?
Can you imagine,
The screams of a mother on a train,
Separated from her child calling her name,
Herded away and never seen again,
Her child, still screaming out her name?
Can you imagine,
Your husband shot dead,
A pool of blood by the bed,
Your brother before you slain,
A babe bayoneted again and again,
His mother calling out his name,
Another act of unspeakable shame?
Can you imagine,
The pain of a daughter's rape,
Her pleas for mercy as she tries to escape,
Fighting for her honour but all in vain,
Her childhood lost in lust and pain,
Her father calling out her name,
One more act of unspeakable shame?
How can we possibly understand,
Those of us who live in this land,
Where justice reigns and men are free,
Where hunger never touches thee?
No fear have we of the dictator's hand,
For he lives far away from England.
Why does the international community as represented by the nation members of the U.N. continue to stand callously by whilst rogue governments commit genocide, murder, torture and rape on a daily basis in Sudan, Zimbabwe and the Congo?
In the globalised, so called civilised world of the 21st century this failure to act and to bring those responsible to justice is unpardonable and a blight on humanity. Until we act to bring an end to state sponsored crimes against humanity, we all remain essential barbarians through complicity.
Speak out now and make your voices heard. Tell your political representatives enough is enough. We the people of this planet want change.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
The screams of a mother on a train,
Separated from her child calling her name,
Herded away and never seen again,
Her child, still screaming out her name?
Can you imagine,
Your husband shot dead,
A pool of blood by the bed,
Your brother before you slain,
A babe bayoneted again and again,
His mother calling out his name,
Another act of unspeakable shame?
Can you imagine,
The pain of a daughter's rape,
Her pleas for mercy as she tries to escape,
Fighting for her honour but all in vain,
Her childhood lost in lust and pain,
Her father calling out her name,
One more act of unspeakable shame?
How can we possibly understand,
Those of us who live in this land,
Where justice reigns and men are free,
Where hunger never touches thee?
No fear have we of the dictator's hand,
For he lives far away from England.
Why does the international community as represented by the nation members of the U.N. continue to stand callously by whilst rogue governments commit genocide, murder, torture and rape on a daily basis in Sudan, Zimbabwe and the Congo?
In the globalised, so called civilised world of the 21st century this failure to act and to bring those responsible to justice is unpardonable and a blight on humanity. Until we act to bring an end to state sponsored crimes against humanity, we all remain essential barbarians through complicity.
Speak out now and make your voices heard. Tell your political representatives enough is enough. We the people of this planet want change.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Feigned Angst Of Politicians
Politicians feign anxiety about voter apathy and low turnouts at polls and then launch a dirty tricks campaign in the build up to an election! I can think of nothing that is guaranteed to turn off voters more than dirty politics. There is clearly a vast chasm between what politicians say and what they do. Either they simply do not understand the consequences of their actions or the meaning of their words or they simply do not care. I suspect it is the latter
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Sunday, February 20, 2005
When
When the world around you has gone mad,
When you no longer recognise the good from the bad,
When right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right,
When we drink not to laugh but the courage to fight,
When instead of a smile we simply stare,
When we throw out the elderly from their homes of care,
When we spy every move through a camera’s lens,
When we lock every door and homes become dens,
When image is all and substance a sin,
When truth is lost to deceitful spin,
When no one cares and no one votes,
When we burn our bridges and sink our boats,
When we sell our heritage down the drain,
When all that matters is profit and gain,
When every day brings trouble and strife,
What is the point of living a life?
More poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
When you no longer recognise the good from the bad,
When right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right,
When we drink not to laugh but the courage to fight,
When instead of a smile we simply stare,
When we throw out the elderly from their homes of care,
When we spy every move through a camera’s lens,
When we lock every door and homes become dens,
When image is all and substance a sin,
When truth is lost to deceitful spin,
When no one cares and no one votes,
When we burn our bridges and sink our boats,
When we sell our heritage down the drain,
When all that matters is profit and gain,
When every day brings trouble and strife,
What is the point of living a life?
More poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Friday, February 11, 2005
EU Accounts Still Not Ratified
EU accounts have not been ratified by the Cours De Compte (European Commission auditors) for a number of years. If the EU Commission were a corporation, the Commissioners would have been "de-commissioned" long ago by angry shareholders!
This refusal by the Cours de Compte to ratify EU accounts arouses strong suspicions with regard to gross mismanagement and/or misappropriation of hundreds of millions of EU funds. If true this is a scandal of massive proportions.
Why therefore have none of the EU member governments been willing to call the Commission to account? Why have EU Governments not insisted on an independant audit of EU accounts? What is going on? Why are Europe's citizens being kept in the dark with regard to the details and reasons for the Cours de Compte's refusal to ratify the accounts? What exactly is the extent of the misappropriated funds in question?
It appears that nobody is willing to cast any light on the matter. This is totally unacceptable to Europe's tax paying citizens and we want answers and we want appropriate action to be taken against those responsible. We believe democracy is about accountability. We see none here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you agree with the sentiments expressed here, copy the above text and expedite it to: E-Mail escom@parliament.uk (European Scrutiny Committee at the Houses of Parliament.
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This refusal by the Cours de Compte to ratify EU accounts arouses strong suspicions with regard to gross mismanagement and/or misappropriation of hundreds of millions of EU funds. If true this is a scandal of massive proportions.
Why therefore have none of the EU member governments been willing to call the Commission to account? Why have EU Governments not insisted on an independant audit of EU accounts? What is going on? Why are Europe's citizens being kept in the dark with regard to the details and reasons for the Cours de Compte's refusal to ratify the accounts? What exactly is the extent of the misappropriated funds in question?
It appears that nobody is willing to cast any light on the matter. This is totally unacceptable to Europe's tax paying citizens and we want answers and we want appropriate action to be taken against those responsible. We believe democracy is about accountability. We see none here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you agree with the sentiments expressed here, copy the above text and expedite it to: E-Mail escom@parliament.uk (European Scrutiny Committee at the Houses of Parliament.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11th February 2005
Well folks, the following is the response I received:
In response to your email below, may I refer you to the European Scrutiny Committee's 32 nd Report of the 2003-04 Session (HC 42-xxxii) relating to the fight against fraud. The Report can be found through the following link:
The Committee recommended this for debate, alongside the Court of Auditors' 2003 Annual Report and a document relating to the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF). This debate will take place in European Standing Committee B on Wednesday 2 March at 2pm on the Committee Corridor of the Houses of Parliament. The Hansard of which will be available through the parliament website (www.parliament.uk)
Please get in touch if I can help further.
Best wishes
Olivia Davidson Second Clerk of the European Scrutiny Committee House Of Commons 7 Millbank London SW1P 3JA Tel: 020 7219 6481
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Hmmm.......stranger and stranger! Check out the links to find out what happens or does not happen next!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Chickens are coming home to roost
It is my belief that the British economy is far too reliant on the financial services sector. We have too many, if not all our eggs in one basket. Conventional wisdom suggests this is a high risk strategy.
I also believe that certain factors are looming which could destabilise financial markets. Rising consumer debt, rising bad debts to third world countries, increasing government indebtedness, a possible fall in house prices, collapsing pensions and falling consumer demand pose a serious threat to economic well being in the medium to long term. Add to this the war in Iraq and the ever present terrorist threat and it seems that no matter where you look, it is difficult to see any positives on the economic horizon as far as Britain is concerned.
These factors will have a serious impact on consumer confidence, equity markets and the banking sector. This in turn, will impact on business in general. Bankruptcies will increase, unemployment will rise, consumer spending will fall, culminating in a classic vicious circle scenario pushing the economy into free fall.
This is not some airy fairy doom and gloom scenario. These negative factors are clearly present for all with eyes to see and have been for 18-24 months now. Add to this the downturn in savings over the last few years and we are clearly heading for tempestuous waters.
Furthermore, Britain no longer has a manufacturing industry of any consequence producing goods with which we could trade our way out of trouble should financial markets wobble. Equally worryingly for different reasons is the fact that we no longer have an agricultural base capable of sustaining the country in times of crisis.
Germany, France, Japan, USA and even Italy and Spain have much more diverse economies than Britain, as do China and India. They are less dependent on financial and other service industries. This, I believe gives them an economic edge in the medium to longer term. I see absolutely no real awareness whatsoever of Britain's economic deficiencies in government circles. Blair and Brown continue to make believe all is well with everything. Meanwhile, those of us who do not wear rose tinted glasses, watch helplessly as manufacturing, agriculture and the fisheries industry shrink slowly but inexorably into non-existence.
The extended dot.com boom of the 90s coupled with rising house prices and low interest rates has encouraged and extended consumer borrowing and spending, for longer than would have been the case in previous economic downturns. It is this that has kept the British economy relatively strong but it cannot and will not go on forever. At some point the bills have to be paid and it is that point that the economy will start to unwind. Blair talks about developing a high tech economy but I see no concrete Government strategy in place to catalyse this revolution. Therefore any evolution in that direction is likely to be painfully slow and thus ultimately inadequate. Others will do it better and faster.
It is also a fact of economic life that booms are inevitably followed by busts and it is quite often the case that the bigger the boom, the bigger the bust that follows. I am thus extremely pessimistic about Britain's economic prospects in the medium to long term. I am also pessimistic about many other aspects of British life under this appallingly, shallow and incompetent government. Mark my words the chickens are coming home to roost. Well at least we will have something to eat, I suppose.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Monday, February 07, 2005
Ideas
Flowing streams of illuminated imagination,
Sparks of genius igniting thoughtful speculation,
Ideas riding upon the crests of crashing waves,
Floundering upon the rocks and filling empty caves.
From the recesses of a curiously empty mind,
Ideas come and go of every conceivable kind,
As though conjured up by a mystical magician,
They ebb and flow, of their own volition.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Sparks of genius igniting thoughtful speculation,
Ideas riding upon the crests of crashing waves,
Floundering upon the rocks and filling empty caves.
From the recesses of a curiously empty mind,
Ideas come and go of every conceivable kind,
As though conjured up by a mystical magician,
They ebb and flow, of their own volition.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
Saturday, February 05, 2005
New Labour's Smear Campaign
Message sent to New Labour:
The reports in the media of New Labour's dirty tricks campaign to bismirch the character and integrity of its principle opponents, shows just how far down the greasy pole your party and those who lead it, have slipped. This is the politics of the gutter, a politics bereft of principle, integrity, intelligent debate and common respect for one's fellow beings. No wonder people are so disenchanted with politicians and politics. It's an absolute disgrace.
If I hear another Labour MP feigning anxiety at voters apathy and bandying around phrases like, " this should concern us all" and "this is something we need to address very seriously", I think I will be physically sick.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
The reports in the media of New Labour's dirty tricks campaign to bismirch the character and integrity of its principle opponents, shows just how far down the greasy pole your party and those who lead it, have slipped. This is the politics of the gutter, a politics bereft of principle, integrity, intelligent debate and common respect for one's fellow beings. No wonder people are so disenchanted with politicians and politics. It's an absolute disgrace.
If I hear another Labour MP feigning anxiety at voters apathy and bandying around phrases like, " this should concern us all" and "this is something we need to address very seriously", I think I will be physically sick.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
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