Thursday, 3 March 2011

Serious quality - by Richard... Thursday, March 03, 2011

I have been so busy with the book of late that I've not been spending as much time as I should reading the blogs. But there is some serious quality around from Jim Greenhalf. Some of his best pieces ever.

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And now we pay - by Richard...

With the last major round of EU enlargement in 2004, one of the safeguards against being swamped with new migrants, who would then immediately sign on the dole and claim benefits, was transitional arrangements. We were forced to allow workers access, but could block entitlement to benefits unless or until they had worked continuously in this country for twelve months.

At the time, there was great controversy about this issue. As late as February 2004, the UK was only one the three EU countries which had not invoked these arrangements. But, under great pressure, Blair caved in, a move which then elicited a promisefrom the prime minister that: "No one will be able to come to the UK from anywhere in the enlarged European Union simply to claim benefits or housing".

What, of course, he did not stress is that which the EU commission site makes clear - the arrangements are time-limited. Coming into force on 1 May 2004, they expire after seven years and cannot be renewed. Thus, on 1 May this year, chickens come home to roost.

Says The Daily Mail, as many as 100,000 migrants from Eastern Europe will be allowed to claim £250-a-week as "Europe forces Britain to abolish its restrictions on benefits". That is not quite right, of course – the reality is that the restrictions lapse automatically. How entertaining it is that this happens on the Tory watch, with Euroslime Dave's ministers admitting that they are powerless to prevent it happening.

The Tories supported enthusiastically this round of enlargement, and now we see Damian Green, pensions and works minister, spinning furiously. He argues that there will not be a free-for-all. He is right, but only partially so. Yes, rules will still apply, but the point is that, under EU anti-discrimination law, we must apply the same rules equally to British nationals and EU immigrants.

This move, says The Mail, could cost the British taxpayer tens of millions of pounds, and there is no doubt it will. An unemployed Pole in his own country need only get on a cheap flight to London, find a doss house and register an address to pass the "habitual residence" test. Then all manner of benefits will flow his way. Any sensible Pole – and there are an awful lot of them – would be mad not to consider it.

Strangely, only last night I was writing that people have to get used to the idea that there is no natural limit to the amount of damage the EU can do. And here we have yet another example. My caution that we leave the EU, or it destroys us, was not hyperbole. The reality stares us in the face.

In the interim, one cannot fail to observe that there is no wonder we are cutting back the Armed Forces ... we will need the money to pay migrant benefits.

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The great wall of Europe? - by Richard...


Heh! Tear down dem walls and jus' build us another. You have to give it to the Euroslime – when itcomes to hypocrisy, they are world class.

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More equals less - by Richard...


Did you know that there was a referendum today on whether the Welsh Assembly should be given law-making powers?

The fact of the referendum, the reasons for it and the consequences, have been the object of almost total silence within the province, many people with the misfortune to live in Wales being unaware of the referendum. Is it believed that the silence is deliberate. This is a measure that even on a good day would be unpopular. The less people know of it, therefore, the more chance its self-interested supporters have of getting it through.

As for the rest of the UK, although this is called devolution, it is yet another step in the dissolution of the Union – the United Kingdom, that is. That, of course, means another step towards the creation of the Europe of the Regions, part of that greater European Union.

The process of regionalisation started as a parallel model for the political integration of Europe, and has since been absorbed into the mainstream. Creation of strong(er) regional entities, with direct ties to the supranational centre (Brussels) weakens the power and authority of the national government.

The bizarre thing is that it does nothing to enhance democracy or local accountability. It simply adds – and in this case strengthens - yet another, more intrusive layer of government and confuses lines of responsibility and authority ... which is, of course, part of the game.

Anyone really interested in democracy would be pushing enhanced powers to local authorities – including genuine tax-raising powers and, indeed, law-making powers. Local authorities used to have such powers, exercised by way of by-laws, and local Acts. Many of the issues which are currently regulated by national British regulations and now EU law started off their lives as by-laws.

No longer can such a degree of local autonomy be permitted by our masters. In the Orwellian world of the Perfect Union, devolution means more centralisation. More "democracy" means less democracy. That is what was always intended to be, even if there are some people stupid enoughto believe otherwise.

That is why those who are aware of the referendum and who understand what it is really about will be voting "no" today.

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A spanner in the works - by Richard...


The damage caused by the crazies masquerading as judges in the ECJ is far from over. Not only have they completely screwed up the car insurance market, pensions experts are now beginning to think that the ECJ's ruling on the application of non-discrimination rules, as they apply to gender and insurance products, could have important knock-on effects on the pensions market.

Although the implications are still being absorbed, the immediate feeling is that there are serious risks to the structure of the pensions industry, with indications that men will suffer significant falls in annuity incomes, while the overall cost of pension products will increase.

Certainly, any ruling which contradicts market and common-sense rules, for the sake of ideology, is likely to be damaging, so the odds are we have not seen the last of this insane ruling. And neither have we seen the end of insane rulings in general.

What people have to get used to is the idea that there is no natural limit to the stupidity of this court - or the EU in general. There is, therefore, no limit to the amount of damage it can do, or the stupidity it can perpetrate. Thus, our options are rapidly narrowing. Either we leave the EU, or it destroys us.

Even the Euroslime should be able to work that one out.

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And today's excuse is? - by Richard... Wednesday, March 02, 2011




You absolutely cannot compare this with this. Just because one set of police are total merchants, doesn't mean they all are. Does it?

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Now you see him ... - by Richard...


Here we have 13th Century Fox in August 2007: "Gordon Brown showed no interest in the Armed Forces in his time as chancellor ... As chancellor, Gordon Brown never gave defence much priority and now the skies are black with chickens coming home to roost."

Then, in December 2008 we got another Fox, followed in 12 July 2009 by the real Fox accusing Brown of "dereliction of duty". In October 2009, it was Desperate Dannatt, put up to it by little Liam of course. Then there is that speech in February 2010 - by Liam: "The consequence of Gordon Brown's actions has been a twelve-year increasing imbalance between resources and requirements with only the will, ability and loyalty of our Armed Forces and their families, making up the difference".

And now, what do we get from the egregious Liam Fox? Er ... a defence of compulsory redundancy in the Armed Forces. That's the closest he's been to defence since he got appointed.

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The answer lies in the Euroslime - by Richard...

"So what does Mr Cameron, the avowed eurosceptic, propose to do about it?" asks the Daily Telegraph. It could be that the paper is being ironic, as it moans about the insane ECJ decision that insurance companies can't weight premiums according to risk.

So what does Dave propose to do about it? Well, to paraphrase a once well-known catch-phrase, the answer lies in the Eruoslime. Dave, of course, will do precisely nothing. He is part of the project, is now, always has been, always will be. The Tories who voted for him as leader must now be feeling ... a tad miffed. But they only voted for him. We're the ones lumbered with him.

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The agenda unfolds - by Richard...


I've said it before, but as Euroslime Dave, backed by the Catastrophic Clegg unveil their agenda, I really do hope that the boys and girls of the ARRSE forum, the clever little Speccytwats, and all the others who were screaming about Labour "underfunding" on defence are now eating their words.

These deep cuts in manpower go way beyond saving money. If we were that desperate – and we are – we could cut foreign aid, we could cut the EU "contribution", we could clamp down really hard on benefit tourism, and much, much more.

All that would more than make up for the cost of keeping our minimal armed forces together. What you don't do is take out irreplaceable core capabilities, not even as a very last resort.

But that isn't what it's about. We are seeing here structural cuts which remove the UK's ability to act independently as a nation, and to project our foreign policy. We have moved from independence to a transitional stage where our capabilities have been removed and there is no replacement.

Soon – as has has been hinted - the real agenda will increasingly emerge: "We will be moving into an era of sharing capabilities with our European allies. The days of being able to do everything are long gone."

Our nation is standing blindfold at the edge of an open grave, its hands bound, with a pistol at its head called European integration. Yet, even as our ruling classes seek to destroy the last vestiges British independence, the media slumbers on, never mentioning that elephant in the room.

But then, what do you expect of a newspaper which illustrates its story with a picture of US troops? And who can escape the irony of the picture showing sailors with HMS Collingwood capbands, a shore establishment with a mission statement: "to train Officers and Ratings for the Fleet who are ready to fight and win".

Fight and win? Yeah ... right. With what?

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Is anyone looking at China? - by Richard...


The trouble with our modern media – one of its many problems – is its all-or-nothing approach to the news. Either it is all over the subject, to the point of total saturation – as with Libya - or it's nowhere. But you now know that it's coming to an end game when you read this - that the UN has suspended the country from the Human Rights Council.

Call me old fashioned, but it seems to me a bit odd when rebel recruits turn up for military training at a "rebel militia centre" in Benghazi, in the middle of a bloody revolution, posing for a nice pic with a bright, shiny anti-aircraft gun (pictured). They don't make revolutions like they used to – since when do rebels have centres? Next thing, they'll have media centres and call centres for "Rebels Я Us".

My guess is that, within a week now, this will have all but disappeared from the front pages – where is Egypt now? That leads me to my title question – is anyone looking at China? That is a far more important country, and interesting things are happening there.

The answer, though, is an encouraging "yes", with any number of specialist, mainly business columns taking a very great interest. There is this one, talking about bubbles popping, this onedoing likewise. You've got this from the NYT, which is also running on the same meme, telling us that, "Carmakers’ Rush to China Could Fuel Another Bubble".

There are lots and lots more links, all of which says that there is something going down, although what the media says is not necessarily what the real issue is. However, you is also seein' energy news and property bubble news, all of which has an uncertain whiff about it.

Our economy these days is so tightly bound to China that market disruptions there are bound to affect us here. On top of everything else, cheap Chinese goods were making a strong contribution to our economy by helping to keep inflation down. There are dark suggestions that the good times are over.

Time, methinks, to be building our own "rebel militia centre", getting the training in while the going is good. You never know when that sort of skill-set might come in handy.

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Err ... - by Richard...

How does anyone take this man seriously?

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Maritime surveillance begins ... in India - by Richard... Tuesday, March 01, 2011


Having dumped Portillo's folly, aka Nimrod MR4, at a cost of some £4.2 billion, the UK now lacks a vital maritime surveillance capability. Not only does this leaves us gravely weakened, it means we are also without the important and very necessary assets needed to deal with major maritime emergencies.

However, as a reader so kindly reminds me, while we might be bereft of such capabilities, the emergent regional superpower, India, is in the process of acquiring eight state-of-the-art maritime surveillance aircraft (pictured), only one less than the nine Nimrods that we have scrapped after a Tory defence secretary made the wrong choice.

The Indian beasts are the US-built Boeing P-8A Poseidon, a platform which might not be quite as capable as the MR4 on paper, but is in fact vastly more capable because it is flying, and the Nimrod is a pile of expensive junk, on its way to the some Chinese recycler.

But what makes this so fascinating is that the cost of the deal at $2.1 billion, which includes an element of support, has a purchase price which is roughly equivalent to the amount of UK aid we pay to India.

In the days when, it seems, charity no longer begins at home, it seems also that maritime surveillance doesn't either. However, we are sure that the British taxpayer is entirely content to have seen Tory Governments piss £4.2 billion down the drain, having ordered the MR4 and now cancelled it, while buying for the Indians a facility we can no longer afford.

How lucky we are to have such a wise and forward-looking government - to which we are so generously giving money. Perhaps we can ask the Indians to help us out now and again.

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The worm turns - by Richard...

According to RSM Tenon, the accountancy group, the year 2011 will shortly see the highest levels of personal insolvency on record. In particular, it seems, the elderly are being hardest hit. Mark Sands, the Head of Bankruptcy and Personal Insolvency, says:
The 66-plus age group seems to have been hit the hardest in these difficult times. Personal insolvencies in this age group show a total increase of 20 percent in 2010 compared with 2009. In the last quarter of 2010, the 66-plus age group showed the smallest drop in personal insolvencies year-on-year as well, not showing much in the way of improvement with a six percent fall compared with 19 percent over all age groups.
Now all you need to do is insert boilerplate references to hypothermic grannies, energy costs and windmills. In addition we have already seen this year two million people using their credit cards to pay the rent or the mortgage. Both of these phenomena were predictable - and predicted.

Next to come will be petrol hikes for spurious reasons based on minor, and largely irrelevant scuffles in third world basket cases near to the Middle East. Then comes the lower middle classes working only to eat and fill up the car in order to get to work.

Following that will come mass council tax defaults, as have already been reported, with figures from the City of Lincoln Council showing 421 liability orders made against residents last month. This along with today's report that Bristol council is issuing 62 summonses a day, even while its own councillors are taking the piss. This on the same day we find yet another half-million pound parasite on council books.

Following that, one thing helping to keep inflation down, cheap consumer goods, is about to come to an abrupt end. We are reaching a crunch point where for many, work will not only be futile in order to stay out of debt, but actually not affordable without cutting corners on things like car insurance, a problem that will not go away even with the new draconian measures. We are reaching a point where the so-called coping classes are not coping. They are being criminalised by way of not making ends meet. The County Court claims offices are going to be busy little bunnies.

Following this will come an upsurge in broken homes, domestic abuse and doorstep violence, undoubtedly involving state licensed thugs receiving head traumas and stab wounds. This, after all attempts at getting actual justice have failed.

What is puzzling is why people are not taking to the streets, firebombing their council offices and petrol bombing the local branch of Natwest. But that is to come. The worm is turning. Today we have this and interestingly, this:
Vodafone refused to speculate on whether the break-in could be linked to several high-profile controversies involving the company. It was recently the subject of protests over claims that the firm was let off paying part of an outstanding UK tax bill.
Maybe the saboteurs have got the wrong target, but if not, we can expect more, especially if they keep piling on the bills while their noses are as firmly entrenched in the trough. Enough will soon be enough. The growing sentiment, from groups that would normally be considered quite restrained, is that they have to be taught a lesson outside the corporate box.

Many are hopeful that this is precisely that, and that it will be the first of many. For the moment, too many people have too much to lose to risk joining in. But, in a year or two, as the system strips people to their bare essentials, sentiment could change dramatically. Then, as they say, we shall have some serious fun. There is nothing quite so dangerous as a man with nothing to lose. As for the women - don't even think about it.

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Posted by Britannia Radio at 22:24