baldysblog.co.uk

Although I would love to see the United Kingdom out of the EU if only so that we may clean up British Public Life and make public servants responsible to the electorate once again, that does not mean that I wish harm to the countries and economies of the EU, I wish them all well.

It is in this context that I find the events in Greece disturbing with the rioting that followed the death of a 15 year old lad who it would seem was likely killed by a ricochet from a Police warning shot. It is impossible not to feel that the spread of the rioting and its duration, speak of other problems beyond just the death of this young man, however tragic the circumstances.

Stormy Weather Ahead

 I think that all of these things go beyond just ‘youth unemployment, Police brutality or currency issues’ important as they may be, it reaches into the very (dark ?) heart of what is wrong with the EU overall which is the feeling that we as citizens are totally lacking the ability to influence events let alone change things.In order for Greece to enter the EMU there were lots of lies and dubious accounting which now, is coming home to roost to the disadvantage of the Greek people. Plus a lesson for the UK with 2012 in mind, perhaps the public debt from the Athens Olympics has a part to play too.

If people take to the streets it is because they have lost faith in the democratic process or, what serves as one within the EU and within one’s own country. In the UK we only have to look at a Government who promised us a Referendum and then reneged on it because they said that promise only applied to the No.39 bus, this is a No.49 bus ! Common-sense says it is still a Bus.The weakness of the EU has always been the “deals/horse trading” done behind closed doors and never out in the open where all could see. The problem with this approach has been to erode and finally corrupt the democratic processes within all member states.

Not of the Intellect but, always of the Heart

There are people who claim to be Conservatives but criticize David Cameron for not “opposing” the Brown Government sufficiently but the point is that the rise of the “professional politician” keen only for career advancement and expenses rather than principles combined with the Party System, has led us in the UK to a “One Party State”.We can change which “one party” rules us every 5 years but cannot expect effective opposition regardless of which party forms the Government. If you look at the Labour benches today, there are only 2 most 3 independent minded people who will defy a Party Whip which is 1% of the Labour Party in the House. The same would apply if the Tories were the Government.

If the majority of MPs just toe the line, as they do, the Opposition can prattle on all they like, they are powerless, there will never be a backbench revolt to bring a Government down – careers at stake Old Chap ! Unfortunately, the EU takes this a rather unfortunate trend a step further.

In the UK we have seen a number of odd situations where British Civil Servants have taken the latest ‘EU Directive’ and then ‘copper plated it’ such as in-shore fishing boats of a given length being exempt from this restriction or that but, by the time they have finished “adjusting things”, are now criminalised for living. Keep pushing people in this way and inevitably the “Heart of All will become United against Tyranny”.

What Will it Take ?

Perhaps it will take violent revolutions for the idiots in Brussels to realise they have gone too far by ignoring the French, Dutch and Irish voices on the European Treaty and the game must end sooner rather than later. But then again, whilst individual EU Governments and likely from time to time for their own reasons, have not applied control over the EU Civil Servants, it can be of no surprise that the latter use that vacuum for their own benefit.

And as for the ‘Euro’, for the whole of the EU ? Sheer stupidity, they would have been better off leaving it to the Germans to decide who and when, individual countries joined the “Mark Zone”, one size does not fit all, especially when it comes to currencies and their underlying economies but of course, this would not have suited the French and ultimately, the EU is about ‘Franco-German’ relations above all other countries and their individual interests.

Germany as the Villain ?

I hardly think so because the British Government doesn’t even start to grasp the ‘problem’. For every problem there is a solution but the first thing is to understand the problem in the first place or put another way, what is the question we are trying to answer ?

Actually, we don’t know what that question is anyway and therefore most actions both taken already and about to be taken are wrong.Like it or not, Peer Steinbrück’s comments the other day concerning the UK VAT reduction were 100% correct, what on earth in what passes for a brain in Gordon Brown, what were they thinking ? All that has happened is that the Treasury has lost £12.5 billion of tax revenue which we (the taxpayer),will have to repay through Guilt Edge Securities which means WE the taxpayer will repay about £20 billion including interest.

Gordon Brown and the Labour Party are SHIT

I have just bought a high quality pocket camera which has a manufacturers recommended list price of £329, most retailers are offering it at £200 and I bought for £117, I still would have bought it at £120. Governments are powerless, it is manufacturers, retailers and consumers working together that will solve this.

As for Germany, unlike our Government who only seeks to preserve their election prospects at any price including the further destruction of the UK economy, they are trying to look after their citizens. Also whilst Germany’s problems have a different slant, Germany is not an island and like China another export dependent economy, if the world stops buying, their people don’t have jobs, that’s how Global Recessions work.