What do MEPs do during a financial crisis?

Give themselves more money of course, what else?

According to some notes smuggled out the Parliament's Bureau meeting last night the Parliament has realised they have given themselves more work to do due the Lisbon Treaty. More power, more work, more staff more cash. Your cash

"Adjustment to Parliament's 2010 budget following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
The Bureau of the EP has decided the reinforcement of the committee's secretariats by the creation of 75 additional posts; an extra 75 temporary posts for the political groups and the reinforcement of personal assistance to members of an additional 1.500 € per month per Member".

That's about £1350 per MEP pwer month.

What planet is the EU on

Marta Andreasen points out that increasing the EU's budget by 6% this year is from "another planet".

It is obscene she says to vote to increase MEPs salaries. Here here. Stick it to them Marta.

Was he already employing a press officer? Because he doesn't seem to be now

Bercow's literary talenst.

According to PA, John Bercow is disclaiming his authorship of the Tories guide to shagging. Now he says it was a satire on his piss poor attempts to pull.

"This article was not written by me but about me, mocking the fact that I was the last person likely to express the sentiments cited in the piece.

Which goes against comments made by his spokesman,

"A spokesman for Speaker Bercow said: ‘This article appeared in a magazine that specialised in being both funny and provocative. It in no way reflects the Speaker’s views today.’"

Which given that Tim Hames is getting nigh on £100 grand for doing the job doesn't bode to well for his further employment.

Sliding off the scale

UK now 7th largest economy, and soon to be smaller than Canada and Australia says the Centre of Economic and Business Research.

Does his matter, well yes it does if it means that our competitiveness is the reason for this slide.

The people one the bridge of state have been asleep.

I suppose it makes it harder for us Eurosceps to argue we can remain fully independent in a global economy. We have often used the arguement that we are the world's 4th biggest economy. Well we can say that no longer.

I can see the Millibrown saying,
"It's good news really. If we have screwed us as badly as they say then nobody can argue for independence".

Of course one way to resucitate the ecomony would be to leave the EU, but they wouldn't mention that.

Sinecure anyone?

I read in the papers about the ghastly bombing in Mogadishu yesterday. That three Ministers had been amonghst the 22 dead.

And then I read that one of the Ministers that had been injured was this chap.

The Somalia Minister for Tourism. Yes, that's right Tourism (including wildlife).

That has just got to be the biggest fake job in the history of fake jobs. How much is he being paid, and by whom? To do what?

Do you want stars with that?

Highly embarrasing, but somewhat telling error in Malta where the Commission started hading out a new version of the Maltese flag.

The EU Representative Office in Malta has issued an explanation after small Maltese flags handed out at a public event at City Gate did not feature the George Cross but the eight-pointed Maltese cross superimposed on a George Cross outline.

The small plastic flags were being handed out as part of a road show on citizens' rights, called "European citizenship: not just words, but also concrete rights!", organised by the European Commission in Malta.

The George Cross was awarded for extreme courage and resilience and should not be downgraded. It appears that the Commission are a little embarrased,

"The Commission was in no way trying to insult the Maltese flag and any indignation this incident might have caused is greatly regretted. The organisation of this event had to serve the purpose of informing as many people as possible of their rights as EU citizens something which was still achieved despite the incident," the Representation said.

Their rights to be ridden over roughshod (think shooting) and have their ioconography and identity downgraded it seems.

So if you see a subtle alteration of the Union flag, then you will know where it comes from.

Farages reprimand stands

So Farage went to see Jerzy Buzek this afternoon, to have his hand slapped after his speech

Jerzy Buzek, the parliament’s president, has summoned Mr Farage for a meeting
where he will be told to “restrain his language and refrain from making improper
comments in the chamber” or face disciplinary action.

The meetig took place and went something like this.

NF: "So, what is my punishment?"
JB: "There will be no punishment but my reprimand stands"
NF: "What was wrong with my speech?"
JB. "We didn't like the tone".
NF: (trying to stifle a laugh) "You didn't like the tone!"
JB: "And the language"
NF: "The language?"
JB: "You shouldn't have called them (Cathy Ashton and Herbert Van Rompuy)
pygmies".
NF: "Well they are hardly giants are they?"

So Farge can make th implication that Baroness Ashton was in her past implicated in a Soviet attempt to subvert British democracy, but he cannot describe the appointment of the Belgian and her as political pygmies. I am sure they would have been even more upset if he had called them dwarves.

What he should have said is that they "failed to acttain the sufficient political stature".

Oh boy. So it seems that Pygmy is now classified as "unparliamentary language" in Strasbourg and Brussels.

I wonder how our vertically challanged Speaker would rule on the subject?

Two videos that say much of our new system of Governance

The next one follows on and shows an attempt to slap Farage down from the chair. I think Buzek believes that Farage uses unparliamentarily language. But he doesn't. What bothers Buzek is unparliamentarily thoughts.

"Near where the chartered Thames does flow"...

stands the Speaker's House. From within we hear the untuous sub-Sinden tones of the Speaker himself.

And boy does he want evereything to be centralling controlled.

Next up applications to stand for political parties. According to the Independent,

"Political parties are to be forced to declare how many women, ethnic minority and disabled applicants they reject as potential parliamentary candidates under cross-party plans backed by Commons Speaker John Bercow. "

"To monitor progress properly requires data from all stages of the selection process, from the initial call for applicants to the final outcome," it said in its report. "Otherwise we will only ever know about the individuals who are successful."

Anne Begg, the vice-chairman of the Conference, said: "Unless the performance of the different parties can be compared with each other, or with the performance of parties throughout the world, there is likely to be insufficient pressure for the political parties to pursue the cultural change which is needed from them before we can have a House of Commons fit for the 21st century."

Which is all very well if you come from a political establishment that centrally controls applications for seats. If you come from say, The Tory Party, or the Labour Party or indeed the Lib Dems. For those parties that impose candidates upon their associations then this would be a mere matter of flicking a switch, but for those who allow local asociations the right to decide who stands for them then this is an absurdity.

It is also open to abuse by rights activists, who apply, whether capable or suitable or not, and them denounce the party that they have targetted. To make a plan like this fair the entire selection procedures, all cv's, all memberships, all the committees would have to be on some government held record, would have to be open to the public.

What if a party fails to attract sufficient one legged Asian women, what sanctions is the political cross-dresser and dwarf Mr Bercow going to take?

And is this plan entirely legal, can a party - which is not a public body may I make clear, bve forced to hand over that sort of information. Will it include religious denomination? And in the end so what. Pedople vote for parties on the candidates they put up and the policies they present, and indeed whether they trust them.

They do ot vote for them on the candidates they don't put up.

If you want to vote for a party that is compromised of short types with slightly too large heads - blown up with their self importance, than fine if you live in Buckingham, you too can vote for John Bercow.

Should the Commons sit through the summer

Just a thought on the Guardian's reporting of the Tory proposal to have the House of Commons sitting through August next year. A proposal welcomed by Con Home amongst others.

If these could be described as the 'Re-Peal Sessions' then yes there is value in the idea.
But, but are you sure that you want a bunch of politicians spending even more time coming up with legislation?

Hundreds of politcians all trying to make a name for themselves. It is said that the worst thing that happened to US politics was the invention of air conditioning. It meant that the Congress and Senate could sit during the summer, allowing politicians to spend more time devising ways to interfer in the lives of citizens.

My concern is that this proposal has the same drawback as American air conditioning. It could be another case of being careful of what you wish for.

It must be an awful lot.

Bob Spink asked a pertinant question of the Home Office a couple of days ago,

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

The Minister's answer is rather chilling,

Mr. Woolas: The Department's funding of charities can not be provided, without incurring disproportionate cost.

Note that this is just for one department, and they are not prepared to admit to the level of government involvement in the so called third sector. Across government as a whole the numbers must be astonomic.

So not only are they corrupt themselves, but this points to a wholesale corruption of the voluntary or NGO sector, or as I prefer to call them the Para-Governmental sector

EU Foriegn Minister: The only way to do the job would be by breaking the law

Well that has never stopped them before. After all the Commissioners are currently on pretty dicey legal ground now.

Anyhow, according to the EU Observer this new post will be a little difficult,

"Although the Lisbon Treaty does not mention the possibility of having a deputy, and the legal service of the council, representing member states, says it would be illegal, delegating parts of the job to others is likely to be the only way to manage it."

Back to the dark ages

Some Maori bones are being given back to New Zealand by the Museum of Cardiff today.

From what they were it seems that they were collected for scientific study, rather than as pure trophies as was so much of our national museum (particularly ethnographical) collections stock. The rights and wrongs of this particular exchange does not concern me greatly. They had never been on display, and nobody seems to know if they had ever been studied which suggests not.

However the comments by Mike Houlihan the Director General of the Museum of Wales sent shivers down my spine,

"Science may have been the reason human remains were brought to the museum, but that's not as important as the human spirit or honouring and respecting ancestors."

Science is not more important than what! Surely science is in many ways the human spirit distilled. To honour our ancesters by standing on their shoulders, to learn and understand more about ourselves and the earth and the unviverse is, to me and anybody of a rational disposition the very epitome of the human spirit. To pander to emotionalism like this creates a real threat to our rationalist heritage.

Not least as the chap is also Chairman of the British chapter of the International Council Of Museums.

What are ID cards for?

Well according to today's announcement from the Home Office,

"2. The National Identity Service will deliver recognisable benefits to residents, businesses and local authorities. They include:

• a universal and simple proof of identity that brings convenience for organisations and individuals and means an end to the use of photocopied bank statements, phone
bills and birth certificates;

• ensuring that foreign nationals living, working and studying here legally are able to easily prove their identity and prevent those here illegally from benefiting from the privileges of Britain; and

• travel in Europe, using the identity card which fits in a wallet or purse.

The Minister states that it will help "entering a nightclub". I just wonder if she is so ugly that the style police won't let her in?

But £250,000 a day for this. ID cards were in the past going to protect us from terrorism, next week we will be told that they can help us to knit and ride out bikes.

They are wrong, in practice, in principle and economics. They are threatening to liberty and they and the databse state that they reveal are something that all of us should oppose.

Ancona is barking over Barking

Mathew d'Ancona is badly wrong when he calls for the three main parties to "collaborate and field a single candidate to ensure that Griffin is defeated comprehensively and definitively".

Utterly nuts.

An object lesson in how to play into the hands of the BNP. Again we would see the sight of the political establishment closing ranks against the BNP. All well and good, but of course this allows Griffin and his supporters to (accurately?) portray themselves as victimised by an establishment that doesn't care about the white working class.

All parties must work the patch hard, they must explain why they are relevant, and what they will do to deal with mass immigration, poor schools, disasterous housing, and dire crime rates. Then and only then will the BNP threat subside.

Not by gangimg up against him and allowing him to portray himself as a villain.