eurealist.co.uk

David’s strong support for liberty has persuaded most within the party – so much so that the one time leader of the traditionalists in the Shadow Cabinet has just resigned to fight the government more strongly in defence of more civil liberty and less authoritarianism. He did not have the leadership’s encouragement to make such a stand, but I am delighted they back him and want him to win, for his fight is our fight. It is in many ways the ultimate proof that the Conservative party has “got it” and has modernised under David. No-one I think could have written such a script four years ago of how the Conservative party would come together behind the cause of Magna Carta and Habeas Corpus, making them thoroughly modern causes, under threat from a punk modernising government with no sense of history or personal liberty.

Modernising the Conservatives and splitting the Anglicans - a story of two leaderships | John Redwood MP

Mr Redwood there is another way of looking at the resignation- it does not make sense for the prospective home sectary to resign in order to fight the government. When all he had to do was to wait a while and he
would have been in a position to see through a real defence of civil liberty and less authoritarianism. He would have been able to reduce the 42 days whilst reversing the many other incursions to our civil liberties made by this present government.

So either Mr Davis is politically short sighted or Mr Cameron would not have allowed him the freedom to make the changes he says he wants.

Looked at that way it does rather open the question of the veracity of a leadership, which has already reneged on the EPP matter, and on the promise to allow a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

One would naturally assume that a party which has fought hard against this government on several fronts would when they gained power, immediately move to overturn those pieces of legalisation
that caused offence in the first place.

I therefore strongly suspect that Mr Davis resigned not to put pressure on the government but to put pressure on the Conservative leadership to stand by its position as expressed in opposition, once elected to
power.

Nobody is really addressing the question “Can the NHS survive the EU” with news that the Commission will present draft rules that patients in the EU can get treatment outside their own country without pre-approval from their doctor. The measure is being presented as part of a wider package to push forward what the EU calls “social Europe”. EU officials hope the package will help answer some concerns of critics, particularly after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

So far British Rail, British Telecom and the Royal Mail are just some of the incursions of the EU onto sectors previously protected as being in the national domain.

These have all been deregulated under EU rules and it is looking increasingly like the NHS is about to suffer the same fate.

The problem is the EU is making the rules but the EU is not responsible for the supply of the service that falls to the national governments, it is they who are using our money to assist the EU to fulfil its objectives. There is absolutely no chance that the British National Health Service can survive when it has no control of who can use the system on one hand and no control of its own costs on the other.

As usual these moves to EUropeanise everything are being applied by our government under the cover of making the NHS more efficient, and with the Tories also applying the same arguments, there is very little hope for the future of the NHS. But as usual Labour will claim the NHS is not safe in Tory hands yet all the Conservatives will do when in government is continue the Labour/EU policy of deregulation.

With the EU commission saying “Everyone should have the right to access to quality services such as education and healthcare at all ages,” We can see that “social Europe” will affect every British social policy.

Dr. Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic, confirmed press reports that the Czech government reached the conclusion at a cabinet meeting on Friday that the Lisbon Treaty does not conflict with the Czech constitution, the conclusion will now be sent to the country’s constitutional court.

The court was tasked with reviewing the Treaty to see if it did conflict with the constitution by the Senate in April, and is not expected to issue its judgement until October.

This is some evidence of the ongoing dispute between the two parts of the Czech parliamentary system where the parliament is mainly pro treaty with the Senate taking a less enthusiastic line, and is a move by the lower house intended to influence the courts decision.

“Because the people are sovereign, governments get their powers from us; we do not get our rights from them. This issue is becoming crucial because the centralisation of power to political elites is a threat to our freedom and democracy.“

Left supports Right defending liberty - Telegraph

The loss of our democratic rights and basic human rights is not a left and right divide.

The EU’s new Justice Commissioner, Jacques Barrot, was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence in France in 2000 for swindling public money.

He was later pardoned by former French President Jacques Chira. But because of the vagaries of French Law, once pardoned it was as if magically the whole episode never happened and it was expunged form his record.

Thus he was never barred from holding public office and legally did not lie when he failed to declare his past when he joined the European Commission 2004.

There is a difference between being pardoned and being found not guilty in one you are innocent and in the other you are still deemed to be guilty.

” To release (a person) from punishment; exempt from penalty: a convicted criminal who was pardoned by the governor.
” To let (an offense) pass without punishment.

THE European Commission described Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off yesterday as a “sham” and said it did not recognise the election or its outcome as legitimate.

Rearrange these words - Pot -The - Kettle - Calling - Black -That

As they both refuse to listen to the voters the only real difference between the EU and Robert Mugabe is the violence, and that apparently includes intimidation on the part of the EU.

Interesting confirmation of the legal situation in the face of changes to the Lisbon treaty to accommodate Ireland, and pave the way for a second referendum.

Austria’s chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, has said that if any changes are made to the Lisbon Treaty following its rejection by Irish voters earlier this month, then it should be put to a referendum in his country.
“We think any future changes to the treaty that affect Austrian interests must be decided in Austria by a referendum,”
“There is also in Austria widespread scepticism about the EU at the moment. After the vast majority of Austrians voted in favour of EU membership in 1994, today we see a mood of uncertainty and sometimes also rejection.”

The pro- EU camp are keen to ignore the legal realities of the suggested accommodations to Ireland in that those would necessarily require a change to the treaty which would mean that it would have to be ratified again and not just in Ireland.

Estonian MEP who drafted the media pluralism report, socialist deputy Marianne Mikko, has come under a storm of media attacks in Sweden on her suggestion that there should be register of Bloggers.
Her arguments are elitist in the extreme in that she says:

“The reader should know why this or that blogger should be trusted on a particular issue.”

“It is clear that a Harvard professor of international relations is likely to treat, for instance, the Middle East peace process or European integration in an educated and balanced manner,”

“The same trust cannot be put in a radical high school student from Gaza or a Eurosceptic who has never been out of his village”

“We do not need to know the exact identity of bloggers. We need some credentials, a quality mark, a certain disclosure of who is writing and why. We need this to be able to trust and rely on the source.”

“The Economist is a valuable brand, its articles are trusted by readers without contributors having to reveal their names,” she said. “If there is a way to validate the best bloggers the same way that publishing in the Economist validates its writers, it should be done.”

And who exactly validates The Economist for balance, where does its priorities lie? and how can we trust an organisation where the editorial staff enforce a uniform liberal pro EU voice throughout its pages? The editors say this is necessary because “collective voice and personality matter more than the identities of individual journalists”

And exactly why should we trust so called balance of in an academic who is paid in the main by the EU, and is therefore only to willing to write reports that support the aims and values of his paymasters in Brussels.
The report calls for a clarification of the legal status of webblog authors and wants to see a disclosure of interests, and the voluntary labelling of webblogs.

I would like to see a clear a clarification of the legal status of the EU something long overdue from an organisation that claims to speak on my behalf.

I would like to see disclosure of interests, from people who fully support the organisation, such as the present leader of the LibDems and all of those in the House of Lords who do not deem it in the public interest to disclose that they are in receipt of large protected EU pensions for as long as they do nothing to bring the EU into disrespect such as voting against an EU treaty or against the interests of the EU. I would like to see the BBC disclose that it receives grants and special rate loans from the EU on condition that it supports the aims and values of the EU. I would like to see the disclosure of interests from Whitehall mandarins such a Stephen Wall who openly admitted that for most of his working life whilst being paid by the British Taxpayer to further the interests of Britain he was in fact furthering the interests of the Union.

For that matter how can we trust the voice of the MEP in question Marianne Mikko, is a socialist MEP, obviously in the pay of the EU and obviously supportive of the EU. Yet she wishes to appear as if she is only looking out for the rights of the European people, but is effectively doing the opposite by furthering to interests of EU establishment by trying to control our freedom of speech by controlling blogs and bloggers.

EUOBSERVER

Even a pessimist like me has a small degree of hope that an obviously lost cause would be reversed in the end. However unfortunately that is not to be, as the high court have now rejected Stuart Wheelers case against Gordon Brown for not holding a referendum.

From Press reports Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Mackay said “We are satisfied that the claim lacks substantive merit and should be dismissed.”

“Even if we had taken a different view of the substance of the case in the exercise of the court’s discretion, we would have declined to grant any relief, having regard in particular to the fact that parliament has addressed the question,”

They also refused to allow and appeal “We are satisfied that an appeal has no prospect of success.”

“Whilst the issues raised are interesting and important, that is outweighed by the desirability of certainty and the avoidance of unnecessary delay in this matter.”

“There is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.”

Actually there is no desirability of certainty, it is better to be right than be certainly wrong, and the avoidance of unnecessary delay in the matter, as the EU has put open talks about the ratification back until at the earliest October when the Irish will have to come up with a promise of a new referendum and by which time the Czech Constitutional court will have pronounced on the legality of the treaty, so in reality there is plenty of time for an appeal.

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‘agreements must be kept’. It is a basic principle of civil law and international law.

Thanks to that rule we were able to create a society a civilization that was formed by this simple principle. To make sure of that lets try to imagine any group of people, a community, or a society where nobody respects any agreement. As you can imagine it would be impossible to create any relationship between people as what we need to build it is a minimum of trust. The question is then, where to find trust if nobody respects any agreement, when nobody honours what he promised?

Epoch Times | The EU Should Listen to the Voice of Ireland

The Daily Mail is the only paper which mentions the secret visit of the EU Propaganda Minister to the working museum of British democracy yesterday. The flying visit was to the Commons European Scrutiny Committee where Mrs Wallström was supposed to answer questions.

All I have to go on is the Daily Mailesque version, which described the visit as Mother Margot arrived in Westminster with two oblong-headed grunts. This although an evocative headline was not the whole truth because she was also accompanied by a press officer mailesque mouse-like) and a little British sidekick with curly hair and specs. Who turned out (to be someone called Patrick Costello, who did much frowning during the session, as though keen to give the impression that everyone except his boss was talking rubbish. Quite the reverse was true.

A very little digging tells us that Patrick Costello is Mrs Wallstom`s deputy head of cabinet and the Mail tells us that one of the oblong headed grunts (the one on the right) was Reijo Kemppinen, who runs the European Commission in London.

Other than a couple of comments by Eusceptic Members of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee, the Mail does not go into much detail about the session, being more interested in the antics of Mr Kemppinen who was scribbling notes throughout the session passing some to the Propaganda Minister and tearing the others up. This presented much to good a chance to miss, after the end of the session the Mail reporter and a Fleet Street colleague scooped up the rubbish left by Mr Kemppinen and “Using jigsaw techniques managed to reassemble a couple of the notes he had scribbled”

Perhaps later we will be presented with the fluffy version on The Blog? Unfortunately in the world inhabited by the EU autocrats and the main stream media we are only ever offered a fluffy version from which ever side. I am sure that important questions were asked and thoughtful replies given, but one would not know that from reading the Mail; no wonder the EUphiles think EUsceptics are thick xenophobes who do not understand the EU.

Thanks EU Referendum

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Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and either exercised directly by citizens or through their elected representatives.

Daily Referendum

Does that sound anything like our country under the current political climate?

The attempt to override the triple “No” votes of the French, Dutch, and Irish peoples has brought the EU to a systemic crisis of legitimacy. A line too many has been crossed. Any sentient citizen can see that the process has become unhinged.

While “Europe” blunders on as if nothing has happened, it is now an open question whether the Lisbon Treaty - née Constitution - will ever come into force, whether the EU will ever acquire the machinery of an economic, diplomatic, and military power, and whether the euro will ever have a polity to back it up.

Has Europe’s terminal crisis begun with a triple no vote? - Telegraph

“I think it would be absurd. What is the purpose of voting in
parliament? The purpose of voting in parliament is to pass bills or
treaties and not to bully someone.

The purpose of voting in parliament is to pass bills or treaties and not to bully someone.

And now the Irish people have rejected
the treaty, it’s clear it cannot come into force. So I don’t want the
Czech Republic and the Czech parliament to become a tool of the EU
bureaucracy or some nations to bully Ireland.”

“I think the European elitists and big nations told Ireland before
enlargement a new treaty was needed. Then it was the Nice Treaty. So the
Irish were told that they must ratify the Nice Treaty just because the EU
needs a new treaty as it is enlarged. Now they’re being told the same
thing about the Lisbon Treaty, and everybody could clearly see since
enlargement in 2004 that the EU can work, can function with the current
treaties.”

Petr Mach – true “crisis” would be EU bullying Ireland into ratifying Lisbon - 19-06-2008 14:24 UTC - Radio Prague

Obviously our own parliamentarians do not mind contributing to bully boy tactics!

EU may send farm subsidies to third world

Uzbekistan News.Net
Saturday 21st June, 2008

A senior European Union official has suggested taxpayers help finance struggling farmers in developing countries.

The official has put forward the proposition that up to one billion euros be doled out in unused agricultural subsidies.

EU may send farm subsidies to third world

According to the member, the Development Committee of ‘Eua had received
information from the Ministry of Works that Treasury had taken
102-thousand pa’anga set aside for the ‘Eua wharf works and put it
towards maintenance of the Kaufana Airport runway on ‘Eua.

MP
Fili said consequently the works at the ‘Eua wharf has stopped and he
hoped the money could be returned so work could continue.

Hon.
Minister for Works Lord Nuku confirmed that the work to the ‘Eua wharf
had not been completed due to the shifting of funds. According to the
Hon. Minister, the European Union (EU) had agreed to complete the works
at the wharf but they were waiting on the EU to release the funds
before work could continue.

He said the reason why the funds set
aside for the wharf was taken was because there was an urgent need for
maintenance of the Kaufana airport in ‘Eua so that the 2 domestic
carriers could land on the island.
Tonga Broadcasting - ‘Eua Wharf Works to be completed with EU Funding

Nice of the EU I must say pity its not EU Money!

Its official the EU Commission is democratically elected.

“It is not possible to criticise Brussels from Monday to Saturday, and then on Sunday, ask your citizens to give a favourable vote for Europe,”

I must have missed that Sunday!

Nicolas Sarkozy has acknowledged that one more blow to the Lisbon Treaty could be fatal. “Ireland is a problem, but if we have a second or third problem then it’s really going to get difficult,”

But keeping up the pressure on Ireland and trying to force Cowen to call another referendum and as a warning to other states that are dragging their heels, he said “renegotiation of the treaty can be ruled out, we are not going to have another simplified treaty”

So far with a delay in the UK ratification forced by the courts there is also a problem with Poland, apparently although the Parliament in Poland has endorsed the treaty the president Lech Kaczynski has delayed signing it, and there is some fear that he may yet refuse outright. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is hoping that as he says the majority of the polish people are for the treaty that will influence the president whether the majority are for the treaty is another matter.

And Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek has said he will not force MPs to back the treaty, with a clear warning to the council of the EU that he would not bet a great deal on a Czech yes. But first Lisbon will have to get a clean bill of Health from the Czech constitutional court and that ruling is not expected until October.
It is already difficult because the only way the treaty can come into force is if the Irish government ratify which they cannot do unless Ireland is forced or cajoled into holding a second referendum. But Brian Cowen conceded he had not been able to give the EU leaders, in a two-day meeting of the council of the EU any hopes to cling onto.
“I made it clear that however frustrating for them, it is still simply too early to know how we are going to move forward from this point,” he said. “I have been honest and I’ve said that I don’t have an answer at this time.”

MUST RESPECT ALL MEMBER STATES

ScT - 21 June 2008

I Feel I must comment on the reactions to the Irish ‘no’ vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

Of course, the Irish result must be respected, but so should the results of the ratification procedures of every member country. It is inconceivable the other 26 member states will simply say: “Oh well, one country has said ‘no’, so let’s forget about reforming the EU and leave it as it is for evermore.”

We need to find a solution acceptable to all 27 member states, including Ireland.

This means Ireland must have a profound internal debate to identify precisely what it is it doesn’t like about the current reform package.

By listening to Irish concerns, all countries can seek a compromise which will address those concerns, as well as respecting the other 26 countries that were happy with the Lisbon Treaty.

The reality is, the EU needs to reform to make it more democratic and more efficient, and Eurosceptics should be the first to admit that. The Lisbon Treaty attempts to do just that.

It is therefore vital that we address Irish concerns in order to carry on the process of reform.

Richard Corbett, Labour MEP for Yorkshire and Humber. Sorry Link does not work

I feel I must comment on Richard Corbett MEP’s Comment.

First of all, was the leaders of the 27 Member states that “were happy with the Lisbon Treaty” as Mr Corbett puts it. We none of us know what the 400+ million people felt about the Treaty because no leader dare let them have a say.

As I see it, the leaders have a choice which is more than WE have had. Our leaders can choose to keep up the payments to the Union, or they can choose to have payments from the people for their own Parliaments because the people can no longer play the games instigated by the Union AND those played by National Governments. In case they have not noticed because they still have their fantastic wages and expenses, the people are running out of money, the shops are running out of money, the services are running out of money, the building societies apparently are running out of money and if we STILL had our many industrial industries, those too would be running out of money.

The people of Ireland have said “NO” to the Treaty. The previous proposed Treaty crashed when France and the Netherlands said NO. The people of Ireland are no different, for NO means NO in any language. The Lisbon TREATY IS DEAD. Get used to it.

The reality is, and Mr Corbett should realise this, the Commission’s antics, their refusal to allow the people a say, and not to accept what they say when they are allowed a voice, has done more damage and harm to the European project than any “NO” vote that Ireland or any other Country could possibly have done. Anne Palmer.