The final paragraph

It seemed an item (NL) like so many others we've seen in the past. Some scientist of questionable credentials making some wild claims about the atrocious effects of global warming in the future.

Ray Hammond, a 'leading expert in predicting future social and economic trends and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford’s Institute for the Future of Humanity', claims that due to extreme weather and failed crops, caused by climate change, price will rise such that we'd pay

£6.50 for a loaf of bread, £7 for a box of cornflakes and £18 for a pint of beer – these are the eye watering prices we could face in 2030 unless urgent action is taken to prevent dangerous climate change.

But what is different is the final paragraph in the Dutch item:

There are scientists who claim that the emissions of certain gases by for instance cars and factories contribute to global warming.

If even news sites (moreover: Dutch news sites) are starting to use this kind of sarcasm in their reporting on 'climate change' then we can safely conclude that the final paragraph on the climate hype sage itself is about to be written.

Terror attack on Jyllands-Posten thwarted

Esther has the goods.

Danish news reports that according to the American justice department, two men from Chicago were arrested for planning a terror attack against Jyllands-Posten (DR) Jyllands Posten is the Danish newspaper which published the Mohammed cartoons.

From the Justice Department press release:

Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets, including facilities and employees of a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, federal law enforcement officials announced today.

The attacks were planned, apparently, against the Jyllands-Posten offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus. In addition to attacking the offices of Jyllands-Posten, the group also planned to kill Jyllands-Posten's cultural editor Flemming Rose and cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. (DA)

No time for reality

From EU Referendum we get the news that in a new scientific paper, the Russian head of the Space Research Laboratory of the Pulkovo Observatory, Dr Habibullo Abdussamatov, is telling us not to be concerned about "catastrophic global warming". What we should be worried out, he warns, is a deep temperature drop.

But we are in the middle of the run up to the Copenhagen conference. So all our political classes are too focussed on imagined warming, that they just do not have the time to deal with a very real, potentially devastating problem. Instead we have snake oil salesmen accusing our cattle of conjuring up green house gasses out of thin air (counterpoint here).

New Labour elects a new people

I realize that I'm a bit late to the party. But I thought it worthy to bring this matter to the attention of readers of KV (especially the Dutch ones) since this story doesn't seem to get much traction outside of the Anglosphere.

Last Sunday Andrew Neather, a former speech writer for a number of British Labour big shots, dropped a bombshell, that by rights should explode over the heads of any and all EUnion socialists: Labour wanted mass immigration to make UK more multicultural, says former adviser.

The huge increases in migrants over the last decade were partly due to a politically motivated attempt by ministers to radically change the country and "rub the Right's nose in diversity", according to Andrew Neather, a former adviser to Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett.

He said Labour's relaxation of controls was a deliberate plan to "open up the UK to mass migration" but that ministers were nervous and reluctant to discuss such a move publicly for fear it would alienate its "core working class vote".

It is a truly shocking revelation. Mass immigration was used to irreparably change the face of Great Britain, not for economic necessity, but from an ideological desire to destroy a national identity. And because New Labour knew deep down this wouldn't go over well with their British constituency they engaged in a subterfuge, actively betraying those that had entrusted New Labour with government.

For the first time in history there is evidence that a government has actually been electing a new people. Millions have come in, straight into a life of low-earning jobs and government benefits, virtually ensuring a solid New Labour constituency replacing the old (out-moded?) one.

At the same time it raises questions about mass-immigration into other EUnion member states. How much of this was actively promoted by the EUnion? How much of this is laid down in Directives? How much of our MPs protestations about getting tough on immigration is that much sound and and fury?

This is probably why the EUnion media outside Britain stays mute on the subject. Any reporting in the issue will undoubtedly lead to questions such as the ones I just posed. The legitimacy of the EUnion is already at an all time low after the forced Irish double referendum. Tolerance of anything EUnion is waning day by day. Uncomfortable answers to inconvenient questions might break the EUnion definitely. Or force it to come out with its benign mask fallen away too soon.

In the mean time Melanie Phillips wrote a searing condemnation in reaction to this revelation:

But the most shattering revelation was that this policy of mass immigration was not introduced to produce nannies or cleaners for the likes of Neather. It was to destroy Britain's identity and transform it into a multicultural society where British attributes would have no greater status than any other country's.

We've had Lisbon. We have immigration. And soon, very soon we will have Copenhagen. After betrayal upon betrayal, angry mobs setting out to kill any politician they can get their hands on will not be far behind, I fear.

h/t to ATW

No principle, no spine, but plenty of slime

Yesterday the Second Chamber of Dutch parliament demanded quota for women in top jobs. This came hot on the heels of the announcement by the leadership of Dutch telecom giant KPN they would exclude male candidate from applying for top jobs. Second Chamber now demands that Dutch corporations include at least 30% women in their top management (now at 7%), even though research after research has shown not a great number of women want to work full time, let alone the hours necessary to secure a top job in corporate life.

But the twilight moment of the day came when the VVD (liberal conservative) came out in support of the quota plans. The VVD is traditionally a pro-market party advocating a minimum of government interference. But not in this case. Said Frans Weekers, VVD MP in Second Chamber:

This is a temporary impulse to break through the old boys network.

This nearly led to open revolt within the VVD, but today they came out with the rather confused and incomprehensible position (NL) that they are against quota, except for women in boardrooms. Citing the temporary nature of the measure (if indeed it is temporary. There exists some doubt about this), the VVD fraction in parliament is quite content to the plans, because it isn't a quota-quota, or some such.

But just how dismally our current crop of parliamentarians fulfil their duty of representation in parliament was revealed by the Dagelijkse Standaard (NL) today.

On April 23 and 24 last year the fraction spokespersons for Finance had a General Meeting at the end of which Paul Kalma (PvdA; Labour) introduced a motion imposing binding quota on top appointments in corporate Holland. The motion was co-signed by Pieter Omzigt (christian democrats) an the earlier mentioned Frans Weekers.

However, nearly a month earlier, on April 7, feminist lobby group 'Women on Top' (nudge-nudge, wink-wink. Giddit?) reported that such a motion would be carried. How did they know? No such motion had been debated in fraction meetings after all. The Dagelijkse Standaard cite a source claiming that 'Women on Top' had written the motion themselves. Moreover, they had taken it upon themselves to secure a majority in Second Chamber.

In December last year, WoT awarded their first ever award to honour politicians active in promoting the position of women in corporate Holland. And the winners of this award: Kalm, Omtzigt and Weekers.

With the award as payment for services rendered, these three guided a motion dreamt up by 'Women on Top' through parliament. So what if you betray the principles of the party you claim to represent in the process? A small price to pay for sliming your way into the affections of powerful women, you'll agree.

Evidently, one doesn't have to be a woman to be a prostitute.

The death of free speech

Paul Belien warns of impending doom:

If all goes as planned, the 27 member states of the European Union will soon have a common hate crime legislation, which will turn disapproval for Islamic practices or homosexual lifestyles into crimes. Europe’s Christian churches are trying to stop the plan of the European political establishment, but it is unclear whether they will be successful.

The legislation, in the form of the European Union’s Equal Treatment Directive seeks to criminalize 'harassment' based on discriminatory grounds. However, 'harassment' has been defined so broadly it includes the perception of creating an 'offensive environment'. Moreover, the burden of proof is on the accused. If accused of creating an 'offensive environment' it is up to him or her to prove such an 'offensive environment' was not created. Proving a negative, in short.

The broad definition of 'harassment' potentially include mere disapproval. Hence, the directive may force people and organizations to act against their beliefs. The Catholic church, in its orthodox views of the sanctity of marriage is in direct violation of the directive. Anyone expressing disapproval of the Muslim faith (such as this blog) would seem to be in danger of persecution by the EUnions 'agents of nice'. How's that for 'free and democratic'?

[INSTANT UPDATE] Jihad Watch sees the Eurabia conspiracy in action:

This would, of course, render us mute and hence defenseless in the face of the advancing jihad -- and that is just what it is designed to do.

Side bar update

I've added a new link to the side bar: Amsterdam 2012 - A blog novel

Written by Ruth Francisco, it's a grim look into an all too possible future.

A young woman who witnesses a murder that starts a Muslim rebellion in Amsterdam, which touches off riots throughout Europe and leads to the Great Eurabian War--World War III.

(h/t Esther of Islam in Europe)

The real climate disaster

Christopher Booker has an important new book out, just in time for the Copenhagen conference: The Real Global Warming Disaster: Is The Obsession With `Climate Change` Turning Out To Be The Most Costly Scientific Blunder In History?

EU Referendum rather succinctly states that it 'reveals how a handful of scientists, who have pushed flawed theories on global warming for decades, now threaten to take us back to the Dark Ages.'

For those in a hurry Mr. Booker himself wrote the Cliff notes in a piece for the Telegraph. Leading to the inevitable conclusion:

In words quoted on the cover of my new book, Prof Lindzen wrote: “Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early 21st century’s developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally averaged temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree and, on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly exaggerated computer predictions combined into implausible chains of inference, proceeded to contemplate a rollback of the industrial age.”

Such is the truly extraordinary position in which we find ourselves.

Thanks to misreading the significance of a brief period of rising temperatures at the end of the 20th century, the Western world (but not India or China) is now contemplating measures that add up to the most expensive economic suicide note ever written.

Of course the scandalous intrigue, unbecoming to serious science, around the infamous hockeystick features prominently.

Fjordman -- October updates

[26 - 10] On Brussels Journal the start of a new 'European Achievements' series: A History of Geology and Planetary Science - Part 1

[22 - 10] On Brussels Journal: A History of Algebra

If the level of knowledge was comparable across the major regions of Eurasia by the early fourteenth century, why was modern mathematics developed in Europe? In the Islamic world, mathematical sciences and natural philosophy tended to be classified as “foreign sciences” and treated with some suspicion, not integrated into the core curriculum at places of learning. In Europe there was a growing body of universities where natural sciences were viewed more favorably and where students enjoyed much more free inquiry and legal protection. The Islamic world did not develop calculus, analytic geometry or heliocentric astronomy.

[10 - 10] Fjordman weighs in on this years Nobel Peace prize award on Gates of Vienna: Why Obama but not Osama?

If the Norwegian Nobel Committee has indeed decided that to promote Islam is to promote peace, I think they have unfairly bypassed another name: Osama bin Laden. Obama has been very eager during his first months as US President to promote Islam, but in all fairness, bin Laden has devoted his entire life to the same cause. Due to his many years of devotion to the spread of Islamic peace and justice, you could consequently argue that Osama deserves the Peace Prize more than Obama.

[ 8 - 10] The complete 'Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World?' is up at Gates of Vienna.

[ 2 - 10] On Brussels Journal: Music and the Rise and Decline of Western Civilization.

Interestingly enough I have heard a few people from former Communist countries state that they do not like Beethoven because they sense some form of ideological megalomania underlying his music. Personally, I would say that a man who could compose timeless and beautiful pieces of music such as the Moonlight Sonata cannot have been all bad, but it is undoubtedly true that he was not a humble craftsman like Bach was.

[ 1 - 10] On Gates of Vienna part 3 and part 4 are up on the 'Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World?' series.

RECENT FJORDMAN
A History of Algebra
Why Obama but not Osama?
Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World? - Complete
Music and the Rise and Decline of Western Civilization
Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World? - Part 4
Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World? - Part 3
A Brief History of Zero and Indian Numerals
What was the First Novel?
Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World? - Part 2
Why Did Europeans Create the Modern World? - Part 1
Six Percent of Swedish Girls Raped Every Year
Europe and Human Accomplishment
istory of Beer - Part 6
A History of Beer - Part 5
A History of Beer - Part 4
A History of Beer - Part 3

More Fjordman Files here.

Statement of this weekend

Mainly in response to this.

(h/t Saberpoint via IBA)

Your home is not your castle

In Emmen, in the north of the Netherlands, a thief was caught helping himself to the contents of a purse belonging to an 88 year old lady. He's done this before, so the lady's family installed a camera in the house, filmed the thief and handed the tape over to the police, who put the footage online (NL).

Now the the Lawbreakers Union ('Bond van Wetsovertreders'; BWO. We have one of those...) has filed a complaint (NL) with the National Ombudsman, arguing that filming criminal activity in a private home violates the privacy of the criminal in question. According to the 'union' video surveillance in shops is okay, 'but equipment in private homes goes too far. [The complaint] is a sort of trial suit to find out how far people may go.'

One would hope that the complaint is shoved into the circular shaped archive, while the ombudsman wipes the tears of laughter from his face. But this being the Netherlands, I am not too sure this will be the outcome...

The Super Turnip (updated and bumped)

It really shouldn't surprise us. After all we had plenty of warning. Back in 2006 we already reminded ourselves of Chiracs assessment of the Kyoto Protocol:

French President Jacques Chirac provided the key clue as to why so many in the international community still revere the Kyoto Protocol, who in 2000 said Kyoto represents “the first component of an authentic global governance.”

That seems the stuff that makes up the daily ration of a conspiracy nut. But in the run up to the Copenhagen climate summit next December we get some worrying words from Lord Monckton on the true aims of the intended Treaty of Copenhagen over at 'Watts up with that': Obama Poised to Cede US Sovereignty in Copenhagen, Claims British Lord Monckton

I read that treaty. And what it says is this, that a world government is going to be created. The word “government” actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity. The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to third world countries, in satisfication of what is called, coyly, “climate debt” – because we’ve been burning CO2 and they haven’t. We’ve been screwing up the climate and they haven’t. And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is enforcement.

How many of you think that the word “election” or “democracy” or “vote” or “ballot” occurs anywhere in the 200 pages of that treaty? Quite right, it doesn’t appear once. So, at last, the communists who piled out of the Berlin Wall and into the environmental movement, who took over Greenpeace so that my friends who funded it left within a year, because [the communists] captured it – Now the apotheosis as at hand. They are about to impose a communist world government on the world.

Which confirms what a lot of us are already thinking.The climate hype is used as an excuse to foist upon us the big brother of the Turnip: The Super Turnip.

The draft treaty text can be viewed here (pdf). Highlights (for want of a better word) are here. If you thought that the betrayal over the Turnip was bad, just wait and see how the Super Turnip turns out...

[Afterthought] And of course this all just happens at the moment that global warming is lying inches thick on much of central Europes door step.

[UPDATE001] Het Vrije Volk has a series of videos on this matter. The first two are from the Minnesota Free Market Institute event where Lord Monckton made the speech referred to above and the Q&A-session after the speech (btw, I inadvertently misattributed the original post to WUWT. It was actually from Fightin' Words). The third is an interview with Canada's Michael Coren on Corens show.

Reader DP111 flags up a radio interview Lord Monckton had with Glenn Beck (reproduced below). Watch (listen to) it. Among other things, Lord Monckton states that the Copenhagen draft treaty would force developed countries to pay up to a mind-boggling 2% of gross domestic product in 'climate reparations'. When a deal is reached in Copenhagen we may find that we got much, much more then we bargained for. Copenhagen is truly shaping up to be Lisbon writ large.

Meanwhile, the big shots of the blogosphere are covering this (Michelle, Pamela).
And here in the Netherlands? Well... The silence is truly shattering. As with the Turnip we are in the process of a stitch-up of epic, even biblical proportion, with our MSM standing idly by, studiously looking away. In the past the profession had a certain dignity and nobility. But for all their sycophantic complicity in this, as well as the Lisbon treaty, it is sad but true to state that at the beginning of this, the twenty-first century most journalists are sub-human scum of the earth.

[UPDATE002] Quite surprisingly the EUnion is digging in its heels with regard to the 'climate reparations' in the Copenhagen treaty:

A call from the chancellor, Alistair Darling, for the EU to commit to €10bn, of which Britain would contribute €1bn, went unheeded. The European Commission has proposed €15bn a year by 2020. The European parliament's environment committee this week put the figure at €30bn, but environmental lobby groups talk of €35bn.

Babysteps, as they say.

Do-it-yourself hockeystick

Via WUWT we get a very illustrative post by Lucia's Blackboard on how to construct your own hockey stick graph from randomly generated 'proxies'.

Yes, you read that right: Now you can create your very own super-alarming hockey stick graph showing the urgent necessity to wreck our economies and hand over ever more money in (carbon) taxes to Al Gore and the Goristas. And all you need is a spreadsheet with a random number generator. It is THAT easy...

All kidding aside, it provides a good explanation on how improper statistical procedure inadvertently biases climate reconstructions by the likes of Mann et al. to show what they want it to show.

But that is not all...

Also on WUWT the discovery that in those reconstructions (by Mann et al.) some proxies were 'up-side-down proxies'. For some reason or other Mann et al. got the data on at least four proxies inverted. And wouldn't you know it: Those were four proxies that indicated recent cooling. But after the mistake (if that's what it was) those proxies showed recent warming. Awesome coincident that.

Between that and the DIY hockey stick it seems we are back where we started some 15-20 years ago. That much vaunted consensus is as dead as can be.

[INSTANT UPDATE] WUWT also has a new widget (see right column of KV) where the latest stats of some important climate indicators are shown: global temperature anomaly, atmospheric CO2 levels, number of sunspots and solar flux. Just click on it (or the link above) to get the code.

The last ember of democracy in Europe

EU Rerefendum has the story. Too depressed to add meaningful comment...

As Booker writes: "Europe's last democrat".

Back in the UK

Gawain Towler was around Westminster this afternoon and caught sight of those lovely, peaceful people welcoming Geert Wilders to the UK, now that he's allowed. Helen S. of EU Referendum also has some pictures. A victory for free speech for all sides, apparently.

[UPDATE001] And we have moving pictures. From Wigan Patriot, thanks to commenter Sir Henry Morgan.

[UPDATE002] EU Referendums Helen S. has her take on Geert Wilders'visit to the UK and the subsequent protests: Freedom of speech.

[UPDATE003] The press conference Geert Wilders gave:

Much needed debunking

In the Dutch MSM (NL) and elsewhere the story is making the rounds about 'a prominent British researcher' warning that in ten years the Arctic will be completely ice free in the summer. The prediction is all the more surprising given that it is completely at odds with the recent trend in Arctic ice extent. From the Dutch link we learn that this 'prominent British researcher' is Professor Peter Wadhams, basing his conclusions on 'an expedition'.

From the BBC website we learn that the expedition in question was the Catlin Ice Survey expedition. Readers may hear a bell ringing now and they would be correct. The weblog 'Watts up with that' have reported on the questionable character of this expedition from its very start (extensive coverage here).

With the publication of the results of the Catlin survey, Watts provides us with a top 10 of reasons not to trust the Catlin survey data. Included in those reasons is the tendency of the expedition to only travel on smooth ice. Which happens to be young ice, which happens to be thinner then older ice. The technical term for that seems to be 'navigational bias'. In more popular vernacular that is called 'crappy science'. And there was of course the embarrassing episode on the amateurishly fake 'telemetry data' on the expeditions participants.

A juicy bit of info is shared by commenter 'Ed Zuiderwijk' (a fellow Dutch-person?) who notes that

Catlin is an Insurance company specialising in selling cover against risk from “climate change”. Well, let’s say: it’s not an oil company.

Tells you al you need to know about the import of the findings from Catlin Arctic Survey, doesn't it? More on sponsors paying for the Catlin Ice Survey can be found here. If this is the sort of sort of people that the Climate Hype depends on for its survival, I'd say the hype is truly over.

Breaking: British judges rule against Brown government in Wilders ban case

From the Algemeen Dagblad (NL):

The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in London ruled on Tuesday that Geert Wilders was wrongly refused entrance into the UK last February.

The Birkenhead Society, a British organisation that strives for freedom of speech, had filed the suit on behalf of the PVV leader (...)

"The political decision by the British government was correctly wiped off the table by the British judge. That's a boost for freedom of speech", stated the leader of the PVV Tuesday in The Hague in a first reaction to the news.

Finally, some sanity prevails.

The Volkskrant has an 'atmosphere sampling' of the trial (NL).

[UPDATE001] EN reporting on Expatica:

The British government was wrong to deny far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders entry in February, rules the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in London.

In February, Britain refused entry to Wilders whom it accused of inciting anti-Islamic hatred. The politician was sent back home on a plane a few hours after being detained by immigration officials on arrival at London's Heathrow airport.

Wilders had arrived in the UK for the screening of his anti-Islamic film Fitna at the House of Lords by Lord Pearson of Britain's Independence Party.

Then, Britain's Home Office said Wilders was turned back to stop him spreading “hatred and violent messages”.

The Freedom Party leader then launched an official appeal against the British government's decision to ban him.

When informed of the new ruling, Wilders said it was "fantastic news” and that it shows “there is progress for freedom of expression”.

It remains unclear whether the tribunal's decision means that Wilders is now free to travel to the UK. The British government has yet to comment on the ruling.

[UPDATE002] Via ITN the reaction of the British government:

A Home Office spokesman said the Government was "disappointed" by the ruling, adding: "We are disappointed by the court's decision today. The Government opposes extremism is all its forms.

"The decision to refuse Wilders admission was taken on the basis that his presence could have inflamed tensions between our communities and have led to inter-faith violence. We still maintain this view."

A quote from General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett comes to mind: That's the spirit! If nothing else works a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.

[UPDATE003] Good commentary from the Telegraph.

Earlier blogging:

• Breaking: Wilders not allowed into the UK
• On his way - UPDATE: And back again
• Wilders UK visit wrap-up

Monday morning linkage

To start of the week, a couple of links to stories that caught my attention.

Another EDL demo, another accusation of racism: Arrests as rival race demonstrations clash (thanks to DP111).

Scandinavia is rapidly approaching actual Intifada: “Sweden as a Horrific Example”

What we are seeing are indications that society is dissolving. Muslim parallel societies have become so extreme that they display direct aggression towards the rest of the society. Regularly we also see attacks on firefighters and ambulance teams.

The tectonic plates in governmental and administrative Holland are shifting profoundly: Trade union FNV meets over Wilders talks. (Update Monday: Shifting has stopped. For the moment... Time permitting I will do a fuller post on this issue).

Amsterdam discovers the reality of the Laffer curve as it applies to parking: Amsterdam finances hit by parking fees.

In total, the city expected income from parking to reach €136m this year, but the final figure is set to be €124m, a shortfall of €12m

Even the BBC is starting to wonder: What happened to global warming? And the British government, in a new low of climate propaganda, is resorting to actual fairy tales.

Meanwhile: the IPCC didn't get projections of the CO2-levels or the global temperature right. And now it turns out it got the methane projection wrong too.

This weekend Poland caved to the Turnip, leaving Vaclav Klaus to face the EUnion politburo on his own. And Germany and France are in Prague letting everyone know who really is in charge in the 'new' post-Turnip EUnion.

The only thing I have to say...

... about the Nobel peace price, its recipient and the committee has already been said by The Times: The absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize.

Rarely has an award had such an obvious political and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage with the world. (...)

Mr Obama becomes the third sitting US President to receive the prize. The committee said today that he had “captured the world’s attention”. It is certainly true that his energy and aspirations have dazzled many of his supporters. Sadly, it seems they have so bedazzled the Norwegians that they can no longer separate hopes from achievement. The achievements of all previous winners have been diminished.

There. Now I don't have to say so myself. And to think the committee thought Obama to be more deserving then these other candidates. He should graciously decline. But he won't, of course...

[UPDATE001] From the comments at De Zwijger NL):

In reality it's a filthy scam. Leftist idiots awarded the prize to themselves. Obama is their biggest victim. What scum.

Don't know about 'biggest victim', but for the rest spot on.

The cat's out of the bag

In the Times today a curious piece centred around the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. They maintain that in order to meet the targets for CO2 emission reduction, living standards in Britain and the West in general must fall dramatically.

The wealthier parts of the world, including Britain, will have to seriously consider reducing their levels of consumption over the next 10-15 years while we put in place low-carbon technologies.

That may mean having only one car per household, a smaller fridge, buying fewer clothes and electronic goods and curtailing the number of weekend breaks that we have.

Now, for quite a long time now there has been the suspicion that the climate change myth was concocted with an ulterior motive in mind. That the ends were not so much a more sustainable world, but more tax revenue and redistribution of wealth between nations. But the centres director, Kevin Anderson, tells as as sort of an afterthought, it may be much worse. Much, much worse (emphasis added).

It’s a very uncomfortable message but we need a planned economic recession. Economic growth is currently incompatible with reductions in absolute emissions.

Let's analyse that a little: Mr. Anderson wants a planned recession. A recession is an economy shrinking. In fact, a planned recession is a planned shrinking economy. Or, in short: A planned economy.

To 'plan' a recession, one would have to have absolute control of the economy. Mr. Anderson is arguing for a plan economy, the ultimate dream of every totalitarian facsimile of human life ever since Marx dreamt up his childishly misguided vision of humanity. I do not know whether Mr. Anderson was caught off-guard, or whether he thinks this the most natural and innocuous statement to make in present times, but he truly let the cat out of the bag.

This is what the environmental scam is all about: A means to legitimise taking control of the economy and change it into a plan economy. Because the last time it worked so well too. Time to dust off Friedrich Hayeks 'The Road to Serfdom' (or here for the short version; pdf) and start reading, methinks. If you prefer pictures: Here you go.

Oh, the shame

With the Irish referendum in the bag Bruno Waterfield warns us that behind closed doors the EUnion is racing to dot the i's and cross the t's to cement its status as our supreme government.

Confidential negotiations on how to implement the Lisbon Treaty have produced proposals to allow the EU to negotiate treaties and even open embassies across the world.

A letter conferring a full "legal personality" for the Union has been drafted in order for a new European diplomatic service to be recognised as fully fledged negotiators by international bodies and all non-EU countries.(...)

Lorraine Mullally, the director of Open Europe, described the move as "a huge transfer of power which makes the EU look more like a country than an international agreement".

"Giving the EU legal personality means that the EU, rather than member states, will be able to sign all kinds of international agreements – on foreign policy, defence, crime and judicial issues – for the first time," she said.

Infuriating as this may be (remember Jan Peter Balkenende and Frans Timmermans swearing the EUnion was not about creating a super-state?), one is hanging his head in red-faced shame when one reads that the Dutch government is actively involved in the betrayal of solemn promises and guarantees.

A restricted document circulated by the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, seen by The Daily Telegraph, spells out the need for legal changes to set up a European External Service (EEAS), an EU diplomatic and foreign service with "global geographical scope".

The paper said: "The EEAS will need a legal status providing it with functional legal personality so that it has sufficient autonomy.

"This legal personality should also give it the capacity to act as necessary to carry out (its) tasks."

Also note the transparency of our 'democratic' supreme government: Confidential negotiations and restricted documents.

In the mean time, here's your read for today: Freedom in Jeopardy, by D. Andrews (thanks to Sally for pointing it out). It gives a good overview of why the Turnip (and the EUnion as a whole) is such a danger to fundamental liberty and goes against everything that is understood when we speak about a democratic government mandated by the people.

That piece is too long to do justice with an excerpt or two. But if you value your freedom and, dare I say, personal sovereignty, this is one read you should not miss.

[UPDATE001] Mr. North on EU Referendum:

The end game is all but complete. Our politicians have sold the pass. They have allowed our government to be stolen. And if they don't care, we should. We are to be ruled by an alien power. It is not our government – it is theirs. We owe it neither loyalty nor obedience.

[UPDATE002] It looks like Czech is going to cave: Czechs 'to back treaty this year'. So much for our last great hope.

Ach, how sad

The Netherlands have two muslim broadcaster: NIO and NMO, each of which is responsible for 1 hour on Dutch public TV. But as happens so often, there was much sibling rivalry between them. SO much so, that much of the subsidies lavished on them by our government was spent on lawyers to battle each other in court.

The situation got so bad, that the responsible minister, Ronald Plasterk, threatened to take away their license. Unable to settle their differences, they have now BOTH decided to dissolve themselves (NL).

I don't know what the exact problem is. And frankly I am not that interested. Chalk this one up as yet another example that islam is divided against itself: When a common enemy is no longer a pressing matter they invariably turn on each other. Shia and Sunni, or Gazastan and West Bank, anyone?

[UPDATE001] Esther has more including the (muslim) contenders for the now-free time slots.

Chaves goes Mugabe

Via Jim Hoft we get a video starring a bunch of Chavistas taking a farmers land 'in the name of the government'.

Fausta provides the translation.

A group of red shirt-wearing Chavista thugs show up at a farm and seize the farm in the name of the government, under the pretext that the 103 hectare farm is “idle land” and that the law allows them to take it over for “food production.”

The farmer protests politely, explaining that he’s been raising cattle on his farm for 23 years. He is rebuffed by another guy, who says, “this is not going to be a debate; this is a public act approved by the Venezuelan people. I’m governor and I’m here to ensure public order. There won’t be a debate, I ask you to listen to the document, after which the public will take charge of the land.”

When the farmer’s wife protests, he tells her to discuss it in court.

Chavez controls the judiciary.

The farmer is told to sign the form, and then to gather the animals so they can be accounted for.

When another one of the people who lived at the farm tries to ask a question, the man who identified himself as the governor insists that “this is not a debate, this is not a meeting, and if there’s any disruption, the public force is here,” pointing to the crowd in red shirts.

Private property is theft, don't you know... And it worked so well in Zimbabwe, didn't it?

A. M. Mora y Leon, who passed on the video, adds:

A Venezuelan with a cellphone camera had the presence of mind to film his own farm's expropriation by Chavista thugs. Can you imagine if such technology were available during Lenin's Kulak persecutions? Or Castro's thieving? Or Mao's cultural revolution? It boggles the mind how the world is changing and I hope this youtube makes an impact.

We hope so too...

A state of rebellion

Over on Pajamas Media Soeren Kern has a commentary on the Irish referendum vote and its likely effects in the foreseeable future.

By giving unelected EU bureaucrats jurisdiction over questions of war and peace, the Lisbon Treaty will usurp the national prerogatives of its member states on the use of military force. This will make it far more difficult for European allies to support the United States in unpopular wars in the future.

The Lisbon Treaty will push the EU in a direction that should be deeply disconcerting to Americans and Europeans alike. The Lisbon Treaty will make Europe more centralized and far less democratic than it already is. For transatlantic relations, this means that many foreign policy decisions that directly affect the United States, ranging from economics and trade to transatlantic cooperation on Islamic counterterrorism, will increasingly be made by unelected (and often pathologically anti-American) bureaucrats in Brussels rather than by national governments.

The history of European integration is a textbook case in how a simple economic treaty can be gradually transformed into an all-encompassing non-democratic supranational federal leviathan.

Commenter David H in all likelihood put into words what many of us sad little EUnion subjects are thinking:

As for me once the Lisbon treaty becomes into being I am in a state of rebellion as I do not accept to be ruled under such a tyranny!

This pretty much echoes my feelings back in October 2007 when our own government handed us out to the EUnion:

Whereas the EUnion up to now had been a wondrous nuisance, filled with curious burocratic wranglings and enjoyably inept attempts at playing with the geopolitical big boys, it now is the enemy. As of today the EUnion and all that have helped her to become what she is are the enemy. Anyone that shows that much contempt for the people as the 'colleagues' have in this six year process to foist this non-democratic super-government upon us is an enemy of the very people they invoke to excuse their actions. A regime that needs this much deceit, this many lies to gain power of government cannot be anything other then an enemy.

Back then a blog with as much equilibrium and poise as EU Referendum didn't shy from putting bluntly what the ultimate outcome will be.

[W]hen people are disfranchised and can no longer affect the way they are governed, eventually, they will rebel.

First, though, has to come the realisation that our government – of which Mr Brown is a member - is no longer in Westminster, but Brussels and that, behind the smiling faces and soothing words, it is our enemy. Then, if history is any guide, we will have to kill them.

The latest EUnion 'win' will eventually turn out to be a costly one. Anyone follwing the Irish saga with a modicum of interest has seen the EUnion for the nully-boys that they are. In coercing the Irish onto a 'Yes' they have lost any credibility and, more importantly, legitimacy to pose as our deserving leadership. October 2nd 2009 will go down in history as the day that the disintegration of the EUnion began.

In the mean time, below are a pair of internet petitions. They're probably not going to do any good (what internet petition ever did?). But speaking for myself: It is a hugely satisfying feeling to register my dissent, even if it won't do diddly-squat.

Support Vaclav Klaus - Stop the Lisbon Treaty
Stop Blair

[UPDATE001] And just to hammer the point home, here's Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:

The methods being used to force this treaty through after electorates have already spoken cross a line that may not be crossed. The European Project has become the enemy.

Not Evil Just Wrong

Next week, on October 18 a highly unexpected film will premier. The film is entitled 'Not Evil Just Wrong' and has been made by Greener Horizon Films, producers of the critically acclaimed “Mine Your Own Business” (Ferdy covered the latter here).

According to Thoughts on Freedom Not Evil Just Wrong 'will be a game-changer'.

Not Evil Just Wrong applies rigorous investigative journalism and cutting-edge cinematographic techniques to create a documentary that is not only a compilation of scientific data regarding ‘climate change’, but also includes personal stories that highlight the very real danger of climate-change hysteria presents. This is no dry, scientific analysis: it is a personal look at the human cost of radical environmentalism. From the millions who have died in Africa due to anti-DDT pushes, to the jobs and lives that will be destroyed if cap-and-tax is passed around the world, for the first time environmentalist will be held to account.

Having watched the film, I can say without any doubt that it is brilliantly produced, funny, moving and very, very powerful. And defiantly worth watching.

Here's the trailer:

Predictably, the reactions on the left reaches of the political spectrum were less then enthusiastic.

One environmentalist sent McAleer and McElhinney an e-mail describing them as “stinking, selfish, sociopathic fascists” and expressed a desire for them to be executed.

“It is one of my fondest hopes that whatever remnants of human civilization exists at the end of this catastrophe is able to put people like you on trial for crimes against humanity and give you the same treatment Hitler’s henchmen got at Nurnberg a long drop at the end of a short rope,” the email stated. (...)

A commenter on YouTube wished that McAleer and McElhinney’s children be born handicapped because they were not campaigning against “pollution”.

Naturally enough, Hollywood will not host the premier. So the makers of Not Evil Just Wrong have resorted to distributing 'premier packs'. The pack includes the DVD, the official poster of the film, invitations/postcards to send out to invite friends and even a piece of red carpet to put out in front of ones door for a real premier evening.

The films website is here.

[UPDATE001] Mark Gillar of The Hooterville Gazette had a sit down with the makers of Not Evil Just Wrong. They in turn had a serious indictment of what passes for journalism these days:

I've never seen a single article where an environmental correspondent has found anything wrong with anything any environmental organization has ever said. That's not journalism, that's stenography. Shouldn't we be examining where their money comes from, what
their agenda is, what the effect of environmentalism is on ordinary people? Isn't that what journalism is about?

Evolution, not revolution!

Readers may have noticed some changes to Klein Verzet over the last weeks. I've upped the post font size somewhat. I recently bought a new system, and I noticed that on modern monitors the readability of posts appeared a tad sub-optimal. After some reader comments (yes, I am looking at you, DP) I did the same for the comments. Following Esther's example, I added a share/save button by addtoany.com.

I also started looking into updating the template of the blog, as well as coming up with a nice header for Klein Verzet (if there are any readers out there with mad photoshop skillz, drop me a line in the comments). Over the coming weeks I hope to bring this blog up to slightly more modern standards. Don't expect any radical changes, though. I'm not a big believer in revolutions, as you all may be aware of.

I've updated the right column with an RSS feed from DutchNews.nl, so that all and sundry can stay abreast of the important goings on in our damp little corner of the world. Dutch News is used here as a regular source of EN reporting on Dutch issues to such an extent, I might as well put it up in its entirety.

In the mean time: If you have some suggestions, you heartily invited to share them in the comments.

Out of fear, a small country has been bullied into changing its vote

With all 43 constituencies declared it is now clear how Ireland has voted on the Turnip: 67.1 percent voted 'Yes' while 32.9 percent voted 'No'.

EU Referendum, who were live-blogging the tally, have the results.

The title quote, from British MEP Nigel Farage, says all there is to say about the Irish result. David Vance of A Tangled Web has another apt quote for the occasion.

Barry Madlener, MEP for Geert Wilders' Freedom Party released a statement (NL) in which he calls the result 'a sad outcome'. Referring to the massive EUnion support for Ireland as it deals with the fall out from the financial crisis, Madlener stated: 'The Irish have been sort of bribed by Europe'.

The bad part is that the Netherlands has made itself dependent on the Irish referendum. The Dutch opponents of the treaty were not allowed to have their say this time.

The only other party in the Netherlands that have their reservations about the Irish referendum is the Socialist Party. EP delegation leader for the SP, Dennis de Jong:

The [Irish] population has been scared into thinking that if they would not agree, the recession would become even worse. I don't think the Irish are all that happy about the treaty.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus respects the Irish vote, but for the moment stay silent about his intentions. But this doesn't sound all that uplifting:

The Irish had their last chance to say something. They did. But it is evident that they spoke for the last time because there will be no more referendums in Europe after today's Irish referendum.

Ireland has voted away democracy. In Ireland and in all other EUnion member states. This is not a good day...

Will common sense prevail?

Today the Irish people will have an opportunity the rest of us, citizens of EU member states, were denied: Vote 'yes ' or 'no' on the the Turnip, the constitutional Lisbon treaty. However, the signs are foretelling little good. Polls in Ireland showed a a majority of around 60% - 65% for the 'Yes' camp.

In no small part this is due to the extraordinary effort on the part of the EUnion to ensure the 'right' outcome this time around, from 'subtly' bribing Irish industry up to and including breaking its own laws. This in turn has lead the NO-campaign in Ireland contemplating legal action against the EU commission:

"This is unwarranted and illegal interference by the EU commission, we believe it gives us grounds to mount a legal challenge in the event of a yes vote."

In the event of an Irish 'yes', the battle is not over. Poland has yet to ratify. In the Czech Republic senators have lodged a complaint against the Turnip with the Czech constitutional court. Potentially, this could delay the institutionalisation of the Turnip with many months. Months in which the UK will have a general election, that in all likelihood will be won by the Conservatives. Their leader, David Cameron has made a point out of promising a referendum if the Turnip has not been ratified by all EU member states by then. According to EU Referendum Cameron will be loath to hold one, but the Czech move may force his hand. In the event a UK referendum will result in a resounding 'NO!' no matter how many times it is repeated. That would finally, definitively destroy the undead beast that is the Turnip.

In the mean time in Brussels the EUnionists are drawing up contingency plans if by some small miracle the Turnip gets buried a second time (or a fourth time, of you also count the French and Dutch referendum on the original constitutional treaty). Contingency plans that amount to dismissing Lisbon but going ahead with the program described therein anyway.

But there is no denying that a 'Yes' tomorrow will be a blow to all who oppose the monstrosity that is the EUnion. A EUnion that will become even more monstrous (see also here) when in the Turnip comes into effect. A all that will have been bought with an empty promise to an Irish that has the sense to vote against an anti-democratic, unaccountable dictatorship of civil servants.

As the Huntsman notes:

Quite why the Irish should spend a lot of blood and seven hundred years of effort to regain her independence only to toss it casually away ninety years later will be the one of greastest puzzles of human history if they vote "yes" in the forthcoming referendum.

God, I hope that common sense will prevail today after all.

[UPDATE001] More on the matter by mrs. Szamuely: Let us stop and think.

[T]he gap between the elite that is blatantly determined to impose its chosen political structures on the people and those people is ever larger; the legitimacy of the EU is weaker than ever and grows daily more so. And a yes vote today in Ireland may well speed that process up. Indeed, if the Irish vote yes, we may well date the beginning of the EU’s disintegration October 2, 2009.

[UPDATE002] Daniel Hannan: Ireland (...) is turning to deeper integration, not in hope, but in despair.

[UPDATE003] Mr. North is quite optimistic:

There is a very large measure of comfort in prospect of a "yes" vote in the Irish referendum. For, if as widely predicted - although by no means in the bag - the Europhiles prevail and the vote clears the way for the full ratification of the constitutional Lisbon treaty, today, 2 October, will go down in history as the day the EU started to unravel.

Head on over to read why that may be the case.