The start of a new, occasional posting, in which we propose five current and must-read blogs or newspaper articles for your delectation:
Martin Callanan MEP: The UK should refuse to participate in a Portuguese bailout
Britain’s net contribution to the EU budget has risen by 74 per cent in one year
So, the question is, are the loonies in charge of the asylum?
In a crystal-clear example of why the political obsession with AGW is dangerous, EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas, unveiling plans adopted by the Commission on Monday for a ‘Single European Transport Area’, has decreed that in order to to save the planet, the EU’s plan to drive out ‘conventionally fuelled’ petrol and diesel cars within 40 years and replace them with ‘clean’ alternatives such as electric or hydrogen powered vehicles is imperative.
Apparently, the Commission is calling for a 50 per cent shift away from conventionally fuelled cars in urban areas by 2030, phasing them out altogether in cities by 2050. The aim is also to achieve “essentially CO2-free movement of goods in major urban centres by 2030″, and that by 2050 Europe should “move close to zero fatalities in road transport”, with an interim target of halving all road casualties by 2020.
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In the unlikely event that any of you thought our dear old friend Jonah Snot-Gobbler was the only politician capable of totally obfuscating a non-answer to a simple question, here is proof positive that he wasn’t. Rejoice in watching Dave “cast-iron” Cameron totally failing to answer the somewhat important question (from Bill Cash MP) of whether or not he intends to pursue his pre-election policy of repatriating powers from Brussels:
A triumph of hope over experience indeed… Unless I mis-read this, Cameron has just admitted that he is unable to pursue his pre-election policy of repatriating powers from Brussels because of the Coalition. That’s a) some admission, and b) not what he’s been saying up to now.
How’s the People’s Pledge thing coming along then, Mr. Gummer?
It’s hard for us over here in Blighty to fully appreciate what a tsunami is like, or even what it really is. I suspect most people, like me, imagined it as some sort of giant surfing wave that comes crashing ashore, and rolls off inland for a bit. Film of a tsunami in action, for obvious reasons, is in short supply. However, the following clip addresses all that. It is astonishing, and the person filming this must have been crapping himself that his building was next.
In the clip, the water comes in like some kind of supercharged, extra high tide, surging inexorably inland. I doubt it would be possible either to out-run it, or to exaggerate the terrifying power of it all. Judging from the building across the square, by the end of the film, the water must have been a good 40 feet deep.
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Let me start with a couple of quotations from an article in the Daily Telegraph of March 24th, 2011:
By contrast, Anglo-Saxon countries rarely, if ever, default. In this country, we haven’t reneged on our debts in nearly 1,000 years, though there have been close shaves. The same applies to Canada, Australia and the United States.”
and
Taken in isolation, these are scary enough – note the phrase “and least important” in the extract above – but the entire article is terrifying…
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Second hat-tip of the day to Daniel Hannan. This time, for a great article, containing two excellent film clips. The first of the excellent Nigel Farage roasting Rumpy again, and the second of a Belgian MEP, Derk-Jan Eppink – of whom I have been in blissful ignorance, to be fair – who really does a job of exposing the sheer hypocrisy of many of the Euro-elite in their dealings with the mad, bad, Gadaffi. Just like our very own Euro version of “Snog, Marry, Avoid“. Go to Dan’s blog and watch them; well worth the effort…
I especially like the way “Baroness” Ashton does a Gordon, trying to pretend she can’t hear Nigel speaking. Lovely… And so, by way of explaining “doing a Gordon”, here it is again, one of my all-time favourite Farage clips, a cracking 4 minutes in which it is lovely to see that twat Brown squirming, and going la-la-la-I-can’t-hear-you, whilst gurning like an idiot of some kind…
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The first of two hat-tips to Daniel Hannan today. This is for his excellent article on the way Ireland continues to be treated by the EU. That is, with contempt, arrogance and disdain.
He speculates that Fianna Fáil will return to its nationalist roots, but prefaces that with the following:
which is true, and then goes on to say:
Both statements are true, and to an extent, cancel each other out…
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[UPDATED]
Today Daniel Hannan and his merry band have launched a new initiative for an In/Out referendum on the EU. The full article is here, and I urge all our Eurosceptic readers to read it in full. That said, here follows a couple of snippets:
and
The case for an In/Out referendum is almost unarguable. But reason, in politics, takes you only so far. You need numbers, too. So, please, go to our website and sign in support. Then email everyone you can think of and ask them to do the same.”
Hit it, boys and girls…
UPDATE:
Note to our local MP, Ben Gummer.
Judging by your voting record on matters EU as shown in the following graphic, it is unlikely that you are going to be for leaving the EU, or even changing the nature of our relationship with the EU any time soon.
However, in the interests of democracy – as exhibited by such luminaries as Caroline Lucas, Bob Crow and Keith Vaz – as a constituent I expect you to support this request for a referendum even if I expect you to vote no in any such referendum, and campaign for a no (which is fine, of course).
I may be one small voice, but on top of the People’s Pledge (”I will only vote at the next election for a candidate who publicly promises to support a binding referendum on our EU membership and to vote for it in the House of Commons”), I pledge this to you personally: if you don’t support this call for an In/Out referendum, I will be voting UKIP in the next election, and I will be urging anyone who will listen to do likewise. In Ipswich, every vote counts…
A study published yesterday in the British Medical Journal, which rejoices in the mind-numbing title of “Association of alcohol consumption with selected cardiovascular disease outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis” shows that moderate drinking can help prevent heart disease and stroke.
Good old Auntie Beeb, says this: the review of 30 years of research “showed a 14 per cent to 25 per cent reduction in heart disease in moderate drinkers compared with people who had never drunk alcohol”.
Further: “analysis revealed that the lowest risk of coronary heart disease mortality occurred with one to two drinks a day” – that’s 2.5g to 14.9g of alcohol. A UK alcohol unit is half a pint of “normal beer”, containing 8g of pure alcohol.
There’s more: “consuming small quantities of alcohol had a beneficial effect on the number of strokes and stroke deaths”.
So, the message is clear: have a few for your own good. Here’s a film from YouTube, viewed nearly 3 million times, of a conscientious British man making the most of the good news…
Will we see a return of the old “Guinness is good for you” adverts? No, I don’t think we will…
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If you don’t know your rights, you have none
Hat-tip, Old Holborn:
What should have happened (nicked from a comment by a policeman on another blog):