IF ONLY IT COULD BE A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Since the commencement of these items in this blog, it has been difficult to offer a broad view on an institution which does little more than extort money from some of it's members, the UK being prominent among those giving more than their fair share.

The bunch of unelected Arthur Daleys in Brussels think that they can make the European Union wealthy by demanding more and more. This has always been the case with socialism, it never stops to consider working for a living, forever pre-supposing that the cash is there automatically.

The current British Government (the Tory part), huffed and puffed regarding what it would do to stop this rot; it was nothing more than spin of course.

We can only suggest here, that those who are logical will spread the news, before we create a large faction which could resort to violence in seeing their requirements completely ignored. The way things are regressing on the continent, don't be surprised if Germany makes the first move; they won't want their industrial power base weakened further.



2011 COULD WELL HOLD MANY SURPRISES.

TODAY'S RECIPE - IRISH STEW.

Although we'll probably get away with minimal stewing steak and vegetables, we will however need shed loads of money which we then will have to let simmer for years, not necessarily giving us the perfect result.

Isn't Europe wonderful this time of year? The Union was supposed to guarantee it's members a perfect, comfortable future. People are falling for all the Marxist marketing jargon from the unelected Euro junkies, cosseted in their Brussels' ivory towers; whose powers can give MEPs an increase of 3.7% and it's judges an extra £8000 per annum, as we tighten our belts. On top of this, they are spending billions on embassies around the world with thousands of staff.

We see that the Daily Express has started a campaign to rid us of this encumbrance that is the EU. Let us wish them well. Maybe they have been taking note of some of the suggestions in these postings.


THE END GAME HAS COMMENCED.

HOW ARE THINGS IN GLOCCA MORRA? (Lane/Harburg)

Getting worse by the hour.

It is beyond comprehension, that when the so called 'Celtic Tiger' was roaring away, dimwits who thought that the UK should be a part of the Euro zone could not see, rather like the economy in Britain, that the Irish finances were overheating. What is extraordinary, is the amount of loans dispensed by British banks; where did old fashioned prudence go? We in Britain may want to appear rather like a white knight; we could ask, with what? There is nothing quite like pretending to be well off and successful.

The problem here is what I call 'chasing the debt'. Brussels is now supporting Greece and Ireland, plus the Spanish getting their piece of the action, under the radar, with all the attention at the moment on the Irish.

What on earth is the UK doing consorting with this unelected rabble?



ALTHOUGH I'M NO CELEBRITY: GET ME OUT OF HERE!

A FRAGMENTED UNISON.

The bilge continues to poor from Brussels, apparently ignored by the people who have to foot the bill, the 'great disregarded'. We can probably include most of the good folk of Europe, who are opposed to all this drivel. Unfortunately, we are grumbling about total federalism but doing little to stem the ludicrous onward march by the EU Commission in the name of President Herman Van Rompuy. He is unequivocal in what he considers to be naive, the national sovereignty of member nations.

Firstly let us consider the continued fragmentation of these states, not least Van Rompuy's own country, Belgium; this may well be his approach to extracting his country from this embarrassment. In addition, we have a number of different parliaments in the United Kingdom, plus there is the ongoing running sore in Spain concerning the Basque Separatists.

Watch out for regulations with regard to banking, this is part of a plan to take the square mile into EU control. Our banking system is the major contributor to the UK economy.


BEWARE.

THE CONSISTENCY OF THE BRUSSELS MAFIA.

As the juggernaut, that is the EU Administration, ploughs on regardless, with a plethora of financial anomalies highlighted by The European Court of Auditors for the sixteenth consecutive year. This naturally doesn't seem to concern the EU Commission, all that happens is that they increase the contributions of the givers, the UK being a major one of these.

At what stage do our representatives point out that they will have difficulty getting taxpayer GB to sanction this gross negligence? Trading conditions within the community are about to take a turn for the worse, as the finances of the Republic of Ireland could hit the buffers fairly soon; followed shortly by similar problems in the Iberian peninsular, as Spain and Portugal suffer the same fate. There won't be too much business going on with them, as they will be forced to draw in their horns.



YOU PAYS YOUR MONEY WITHOUT A SAY.

HOW MANY STRAWS TO GO?

Our intrepid Prime Minister gets into the swing of 'smoke and mirrors' politics with his government's latest U turn regarding the voting rights of prisoners; this is to conform with EU Human Rights legislation, something he distinctly said he would oppose when coming to Government.

Such mind boggling changes of direction need to be considered seriously, with a view to a suitable response from the Electorate, whose back must soon bend to breaking point, if a move on behalf of, what seems to be a majority, is not observed as being completely against their will. The word sovereignty is bandied about by MPs as though they are defending it, when the opposite is the case.

The frightening thing about this slavish attitude towards the EU by all parties, which is not backed by the majority of the country judging by what one reads in the press and by hear say, will no doubt see the rise of British Nationalism. It won't be enough just to call them names.


TURKEYS TO HOLD A REFERENDUM ON CHRISTMAS.

LIKE PEAS IN A POD.

One thing is for sure, MEP Daniel Hannan's views on Brussels are normally close to those of the author's. In today's Sunday press, he expounds on the juggernaut creep of the EU, taking over the roll of foreign policy, with the extortionate costs involved; Embassies all around the world, plus legions of staff (probably over staffing would be nearer the mark). All this is taking place through the auspices of the unchallenged Quango Queen, Baroness Ashton. In the past, we would show a kind of reverence to someone holding a senior position. In Europe however, these folk are unelected, politically suitable puppets, having squirmed up the greasy commissions pole, with a lot of assistance from like minded colleagues; so dim that their staff need torches to see where the policies lead, but all spending 'shed loads' of taxpayer GB's cash.

At least DH is making the point that we should be stamping hard on the toes of the Commission in Brussels. Most folk completely ignored the warnings of that other Baroness, Thatcher, of many years ago. At least we have the likes of Hannan, Farage and my own MEP Roger Helmer (the latter is aware of my concerns), making appropriate noises.


WE HAVE TO WAKE UP SOON.

BRUSSELS AL DENTE.

Cameron may have challenged the EU commission on their proposed 6% increase in the forthcoming budget for the European Union, but a figure of 2.9% is not acceptable either; these are austere times, control of our National Budget cannot work in isolation, it needs to be accompanied with the same reduction to contributions to the European pot. We are witnessing here the sly way in which Brussels wants to try to embarrass the UK further, following the disgraceful excesses in which Brown and his mob left the economy. So Prime Minister, this is where the real work begins; running with the Libdem insistence of agreeing with everything European has to stop. The decision has to be made by taxpayer GB.

What on earth are we afraid of in Britain? There is no way that Brussels will want us to leave the Union, they can't afford to do so. It is high time to threaten the Commission with what the Brits will accept. Listening to the requirements of the Euro Nations, who are on the take, reminds the author of Maggie Thatcher, who, in defending the contribution from Great Britain, was regularly criticised by the BBC and the Left generally, for being what the Europhiles considered anti- European.


YOU SEE WHERE IT HAS LEFT US.

SOMETHING APPEARS TO BE STIRRING ON THE MAINLAND.

Apart from tax increases, not a lot occurs on the European mainland. Maybe that is about to change, at least the seeds of some new thinking could be propagating. Firstly we have the situation in Germany, where Angela Merkel has, due to unpopularity in the polls, been forced to make a statement on misguided multiculturalism. Differing systems forced upon a nation will always trigger some problems; new laws imposed to support the immigrants are bound to create resentment among the indigenous population. We, in the UK, could be cynical here, thinking that any newcomer to Europe will always plump for the softest option, Britain.

Two other items concern France: Initially we have that rare situation of thinking logically about the Union; the thinker is Hubert Vedrine, a former French Minister. He's now recommending that Brussels draws back from this race to federalism, and retain sovereign nation states. This is like a breath of fresh air, which I hope that our politicians start to breathe in, to conform more with the British electorate. The other news from the other side of the Channel is a little more disturbing: The French, who retire at 60 years, are rioting following President Sarkozy's insistence upon an increase to 62 years. In addition to the ludicrous actions of the students, who would have no understanding of economics, the carnage imposed on innocent people is utterly disgraceful.

We, in the UK, should be particularly aware that we retire some five years later than the French, and are considering a similar extension to the working life, with the exception of those employed by the state. What is more important, we contribute much more to European coffers than the French, therefore easing their pension contributions. It is high time to reconsider our position regarding this waste of money.

WHY ARE WE IN THIS FOOLISH CLUB?

MORE BULL.

Regular winner of the Tour de France, Alberto Contador (a name more suited to Bull Fighting), appears to be fighting a drugs charge by suggesting that it is the fault of a steak which he ate. Now accusing a bovine beast of drug abuse is going a little over the top. One anticipates that such practices could have crept into the habits of Spanish fighting bulls; being aware of their comparatively short lives, they have turned to snorting coke and injecting heroine, hoping not to be found out, with a view to their early demise.

Of course the author could be on a perpetual high, being a regular beef eating carnivore.



WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SPORT?

EURO WOE.

It was noted some time ago in our sibling blog, Government By Playgroup (http://polly-tickle.blogspot.com), that many more European nations would fail in the ongoing travails of universal economic shortcomings and fraud. This, in every case, was triggered by the thought that the so called prosperous times could go on forever. There was, of course, never any time that was genuinely good; it was always fuelled by overwhelming levels of, at best, flimsy credit, and poor judgement on behalf of both the lenders (banks) and the more gullible public. In the case of the UK, ignorance of the Labour Government. Socialism has never been known for it's economic prowess.

The Irish banking meltdown has been obvious for a few years, during which time the nation had been asked about the latest treaty to further destroy their lives; they voted initially with their hearts, rejecting the Lisbon Treaty, but were bribed to vote on a variant, and this is the consequence of such stupidity. The opportunity of setting their own interest rates was never again to be available to them; hence this disastrous outcome. The Brits now have a further problem, inasmuch as a large amount of the Anglo Irish Bank's losses will be suffered by UK banks. Incidentally, when this bites, the Labour opposition will blame the Coalition Government; no longer will they deem it to be a world wide problem.

In the case of the current situation manifesting itself in Spain, we need to note, that as soon as the workforce went on strike, their credit rating became more punitive. Britain needs to heed this lesson when our bone headed union bosses are calling for a withdrawal of labour, then we will all get a larger bill. An additional point is worth noting: Before the last Government called the election, the pound was around $1.40, as soon as the world's markets identified that the UK could have a change of government, it has improved to $1.50+. This occurred because of the promise to tackle the debt. The outgoing Labour regime being spared the job of administering the unpalatable medicine, giving them the opportunity of pulling faces across the floor of Parliament.

Enter the EU's unelected high command, who can now see an opportunity to enforce the member nations to allow Brussels to control all budgets. The plot thickens.

DENIAL ALSO FLOWS THROUGH BRUSSELS.

WW1 DEBT SETTLED.

It was noted in the press today, that Germany has at last settled reparations regarding the conflict from almost a century ago, which ties in very well with the book the author is currently reading, When Money Dies' by Adam Fergusson; describing in detail the financial turmoil in Germany, Austria and Hungary following the cessation of activities in 1918. The book gives a monthly account of inflation in the early 1920's, the period referred to as the Weimar Republic. Money was being printed on a massive scale, none of which was backed up by gold.

The very essence of this kind of monetary practice, quantitative easing, places the currency in jeopardy. We need to remind ourselves of the fact, that we have already printed ourselves £200 billion in recent times, with a suggestion that we could go ahead with more. All of this has added to the national debt, which means that we have to pay it back.


PLUS OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

SARKOZY, THE PRAGMATIST.

President Sarkozy is going through a phase of polishing up his image, by considering the French electorate, regarding the business of clearing their delightful countryside of Roma travellers (Gipsies). He is, naturally, being harangued by the unelected, left wing busybodies in Brussels, deigning to call him a Nazi. This practice is probably already being carried out in a number of EU member states; knowing full well that this is politically dangerous and can only lead to national unrest and worse. The danger is not that of so called 'ethnic cleansing', but, the destruction of wonderful rural France.



ONLY THE UK COULD ALLOW THIS INFLUX UNABATED.

NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THIS.

The news from informed circles is not good. The Germans are operating a little sleight of hand, spinning faster than any of the ridiculous wind turbines. The evidence suggests, that to hide it's financial situation, Merkel's Governing party has dispersed the nation's debt to the regions, giving Berlin a clean bill of health. This could well create catastrophe for many of them.

This type of accounting, which has grown in popularity following the recent international downturn, is adopted to take the eye of the taxpayer, off the ball; giving the politicians more time to conjure up even more deception. The chickens, however, will always come home to roost; more than likely with a larger tab.

This is a perfect example explaining why it is impossible to run a European conglomerate from a central administration; when push comes to shove, all of the nations will slip into the shadows and do what is best for themselves.


UNWITTINGLY, THE IMF GAVE GERMANY A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH.

CONFOUND BRUSSELS.

The EU creep. This isn't a dance, or even one of hundreds of useless personnel, with their snouts in the regularly replenished trough; it is the remorseless plod of an unelected bunch of law makers, forever devising new ways of taxing the poor citizens of Europe, particularly the Brits.

The latest wheeze seems to be the suggestion that we pay taxes direct to Brussels. Green taxes seem to be in the frame; always commence with emotive subjects when selling ideas to the masses. As we are well aware, we are currently paying through the nose to our own exchequer with these absurd levies, which probably go towards funding immigration. The second suggestion is to impose a tax on financial transactions in the world of banking; many will consider this to be quite legitimate as a method of getting back at the banks. Well I suggest they think again. This would not only suck money away from the City of London, but also from the nations coffers.

The prime mover with these latest suggestions is the EU budget commissioner, Janusz Lewandowski; well! he has to do something when he turns up at the office. Perhaps he is immune from what is going on in the proper world.

This certainly qualifies as referendum fodder.



REMEMBER: NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION.

How refreshing to hear that Nigel Farage continues to give the EU Parliament considerable
earache. He was ridiculed this week for pointing out that the new Belgian Government, the New Flemish Party, wants partition from the French speaking section of the country, the Walloons. Here is a country at the heart of Europe, wishing separation within it's own boundaries, with obvious support from the majority of the nation. Farage is just the type of character needed to keep us aware of the machinations going on in Brussels, as the BBC most certainly ignores the service that it is supposed to perform.

In Farage's book 'Fighting Bull', he writes about his growing distrust of the European Union over the last twenty years. On winning his seat in the European Parliament in 1999, he recalls that his return ticket to Brussels cost a nominal £99; he, along with all the other members, was awarded £600 in expenses, no receipts, no questions asked. As he makes abundantly clear, this is our money. Let us hope that he is not the only one fighting our corner.


WE MUST VOTE IN MANY MORE REPRESENTATIVES FOR THIS SERVICE.

EUROPE IS MORE THAN A HOLIDAY DESTINATION.

When considering the EU too many people think that a shared currency is essential as a convenience for travelling from one country to another. Unfortunately, currencies are far more important than that, they tell us how individual nations are performing.

In the last three weeks we have spent time in both Copenhagen and Paris. Denmark retained it's own coinage, the Kroner. The cost of living there is exceptionally high; a system with which the population appears to be happy, although some go over to shop in Sweden for savings. France conversely seems happy with the Euro, probably because they do particularly well from the Common agricultural policy.

Both countries have distinct advantages over Britain, England in particular, much of both countries being empty, apart from the towns and cities. One gets the feeling that they are not concreting over the countryside with a view to accommodating the rest of the world.

During our sojourn in Copenhagen we spent one lunch time in a central square, enjoying the music played by three old boys; forming a delightful jazz trio, playing proper songs, the type that I play on my radio slot. A round of three drinks, two half litres and a small lager, however, came to over £20. Paris naturally is not cheap; the eating houses, of which there are many, are obviously competing against each other to prevent prices becoming outrageous. We enjoy French cuisine.

ALWAYS STICK WITH ONE'S OWN CURRENCY

THE EURO AND SOCIALISM.

It transpires that some economists are now emerging from the woodwork to declare that the Euro is a hopeless cause. Not before time! It has, of course, been so from inception. It will always be impossible to keep varying concentrations of different factions locked into a system that mean different things to different nations.

European union has always been dreamt of as a giant socialist 'Shangri la'. A creation where millions of people can live a 'life of Larry', while Germany and a few others, including the UK, pick up the tab. We're used to the system in Britain, as we have been operating along those lines for the past thirteen years. Well, get acquainted with the possibility that the show will ultimately leave town!

Democracy will slow the process, strange how this seems for a Brussels Dictatorship. We shall have to wait for the Germans, who will probably get rid of the inept Merkel, replacing her with the Social Democrats; they, in turn, will throw shed loads of cash at the problem, which will prove to be the last straw for the swathes of logically thinking Germans.



THE PARTY'S OVER! WELL ALMOST!

A FRIGHTENING THOUGHT.

We read from an old school chum of the deposed PM, Gordon Brown, that Brown coverts the job of leading the International Monetary Fund. His motivation seems to be to eliminate child poverty. Well, perhaps he'll commence here in the UK, where child poverty is about to take off, thanks to his profligacy.

It beggars belief that such an economic neophyte could be considered for a job requiring the prerequisite of a knowledge of simple accounting; particularly with a view to having more in the bank, year on year. Should he succeed in his ambition, be in little doubt that child poverty will increase annually, costing taxpayer UK, along with others around the world, a fortune.


LET'S REMIND OURSELVES: 'NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK'. (W.C.Fields)

IT'S TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE.

We are sure that many can recall the cry of being at the heart of Europe. The EU was certainly not going to allow that. Well, the time has arrived for us to make our move. Let's dismantle the unelected regime and its currency, which would eradicate the vast overhead that has become the problem of what was supposed to be a successful organization. The return to independent nation states, prepared to do business with each other on reasonable terms, is all that we need to succeed.

Enter the smart Brit, if only we could find one! The time for a convincing statesperson, surely the requirement is beyond doubt. Otherwise, what is about to turn out to be interminable friction from hereon will be impossible to avoid. We wouldn't go as far as suggesting that there is major conflict here, but dire differences will manifest themselves very soon.

A truly democratic regime would recognize the insermountable problems that are shouting the warnings right now. A lack of response by us would be completely irresponsible.

This blog is related to Government By PlayGroup: http://polly-tickle.blogspot.com


WATCH EUROPEAN CURRENCIES.

IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

As the EU stumbles from one expensive crisis to the next, let us consider some of the vast number of drawbacks, due to our membership of one of the most fraudulent institutions ever created under the guise of a democratic organization. For fifteen years we have witnessed the refusal of the auditors to accept the accounts of this disgraceful mish-mash of unelected 'know- alls' dictating our every move. All nonentities, in place because they couldn't hold down a proper job. The worst of this diabolical situation being the currency i.e the Euro.

When the Euro was introduced, something we have so far refused to join, it was considered to be the panacea of all the problems between member nations, as all of them would have to adhere to strict economic rules. The powers that be forgot to inform Greece and probably Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland. In actual fact, what it was supposed to do was accelerate federalism, something Maggie Thatcher warned about, with good cause. Don't forget, the UK has a coalition Government now, part of which would embrace all these things.

So where do we go? The author is not sure that we have to do anything, as things are beginning to fall apart across Europe. Germany is probably closer to making moves about returning to the deutchmark. Who can blame them? The concern is, that the longer money is thrown at this disaster, the worse it will become. So called socialist remedies will always cost much more.

MARK THESE WORDS REGARDING GERMANY.