Too little, too late

In the Daily Mail Jeremy Paxman has a belated epiphany: 'I am part of the most selfish generation in history and we should be ashamed of our legacy'.

Yes, you are and you should.

Getting on for a million of this generation have taken themselves off to live in parts of continental Europe where they think the weather is kinder and the fags and booze are cheaper.

In southern Spain or rural France they watch Sky television, demand the assistance of British consuls paid for by their hard-working offspring and are begged by the big parties to register for postal votes.

Thousands more enjoy a healthier old age than they had any right to expect jetting around the world on holidays of one sort or another.

You can hardly blame them for thinking the world belongs to them. It really does.

Their children and grandchildren, meanwhile, have been sent out into a plundered world, shackled by debt, unable to contemplate early home ownership or starting a family.

Kudos to Paxman for being so brutally honest. But (blasphemous expletive deleted), couldn't you lot have thought this out for yourselves, oh, twenty to thirty years ago. Way back then the first symptoms of what is now threatening to strangle us were already there, already visible. There was still time to avert this disaster. But you (yes, you too Mr. Paxman) chose to ignore it, to close your eyes and sing 'Lalala' so you wouldn't have to see or hear that you make believe world wasn't real.

Yes, kudos to you for realizing this now. But unless you have suggestions on how to constructively make amends: fat lot of good it does us. What do you now expect from us GenX and GenY? Absolution? A pat on the head, telling you we don't mind so much? Well, I do mind. For decades you and your lot have been riding your high horse. And in all likelihood, knowing the shameless arrogance of boomers in general, you will continue to do so for years to come.

But look around at the mess we're in. That is the world you created. That magnificent heritage you received from your parents, our grand-parents: You've run it down, blown through it and eventually just sold what was left for a few more party hours. And now you are about to bequeath it to us, an utterly derelict property, no money to restore it and ruinous mountains of unpaid debt for us to pay off. Thank you so bloody much!

Kudos to you for this rare bit of honest introspection, especially coming from someone of your generation, Mr. Paxman. But frankly, it is too little, and much, much too late.

Sunday linkage

Some items, I thought of some importance, for your Sunday perusal. The video is Pamela Gellers "Truth is the New Hate Speech" speech referred to below. If you have forty minutes to spare, this is one you should watch.

On Eurabia, but America too:
Pamela Geller, "Truth is the New Hate Speech"
Islamophobia, Islamic Slander, and the OSCE
Towards a “Responsible” Freedom of Speech in Europe
The End of Freedom of Expression in Europe

The Religion of Peace in action:
British MP Forced to Hide After Muslim Extremists Storm Mosque During His Visit in North London
France: Muslims stone Catholic festival-goers
Utterly shameless: 'Jewish-star' anti-Islamophobia protest

The EUro crisis:
This was the week that European democracy died
The next European war
Portugal Is Next: Improverished PIIG Demands US Assistance, Debt "Haircut" To Come Next
EUROCON: Would you buy unsecured junk bonds from a spiv?

And climate:
The writing on the wall
Scientist who said climate change sceptics had been proved wrong accused of hiding truth by colleague
It was the BEST of times, it was the worst of times

Have a good Sunday!

Still sure?

Union Europaea delenda est. This is one of the core positions on this blog. And as we watch the stresses building up within the EUnion as a result of the economic 'down-turn' it would seem the EUnion is firmly on it's way to oblivion. People more knowledgeable then I have said it was always going to be thus. But the collapse seems to be here, for real now. The question is: How much damage will be done, most importantly to us, mere citizens?

The deal struck by EUnion leaders last Thursday wasn't. It was immediately apparent when the first news broke. But over the last days more and more details have come out that illustrate the utter fatuousness, the complete emptiness of what was concocted by Frau Merkel and Napoleons retarded nephew.

The 'leveraging' consists of trying to lure outside investors by covering the first 20% loss on bonds that in all likelihood will incur 50-70% losses, at the least. That's and interesting and attractive opportunity isn't it? Invest in the EUnion and suffer losses of only 30-50 cents on the euro, instead of the full hit.

Hopes of BRIC involvement were dashed earlier, when Brazil bluntly said 'Thanks, but no thanks'. After the summit, Sarkozy shuttled off to China to ask pretty please for help. In a moment of complete insanity, the EFSF even suggested issuing bonds in Chinese Yuan. The Chinese, culturally inflicted with a higher form of politeness, did not refuse so bluntly. They just refused to commit. Which in Chinese terms is pretty much the same answer the Brazilians gave (minor update: See what I mean?).

The much ballyhoo-ed 50% haircut does NOT slash Greek debt in half, as the evidently completely illiterate reporters and anchors of the Dutch news wanted you to believe. That haircut is only for private sector investors. Since the majority of Greek debt paper is held by governments, Greek debt will be reduced by 28%, at most. And this is assuming that banks will fully commit, which they haven't yet and maybe never will. That was another teensy detail, like the participation of the BRICs, left open in the deal from last Thursday.

All in all the deal is an empty vessel of promises that will not be kept. The EUnion leaders have set themselves up for failure. The crisis will return in a few weeks. And as the stress increases, the call for the ECB to start the presses will mount as well. And when that happens we will all be Greeks, victims of corrupt politicians, undemocratic adherents to a non-viable ideology, that will not stop until all the economies of the EUnion are exhausted and lie in ruins before us.

That includes our own government, our parliamentary system, our MSM and the entire spectrum of 'social partners'.

Collectively, they are force-feeding us the message that it is good to lose our savings, if it means the EUnion will linger on for another few years. That pulling the plug on this misbegotten adventure will result in even more ruin. That's is what they said at the beginning of this crisis. That is what they are still saying now. But the costs of keeping the EUnion on life support have mounted exponentially and continue to rise.

With the new, expanded Greek bail-out, the Dutch are on the hook for 7.8 bln euros (NL). The 30 bln sweetener offered to banks that take the 50% haircut will cost us another 1.8 bln. But this is only the case if all euro zone countries, even the basket-case PIIGS, contribute. If not, we will be on the hook multiples of that number, increasing our sovereign debt. If then our AAA credit rating is downgraded, this will cost us a minimum of 8 bln in increased interest, YEARLY!

Imagine this: If a 1 billion budget cut all but obliterates the Royal Dutch Armed Forces, what 8 bln yearly extra interest payments alone will do, never mind the rest. Are you still sure, at this stage, that pulling out is more costly?

Quote of the day

The situation is not unlike that in former communist East Germany. It was called the German Democratic Republic and you could vote for different parties - Christian Democrats, Liberal Democrats, the Democratic Farmers' Party and so on. But they were all signed up to the programme of the so-called Socialist Unity Party which took its orders from Moscow - just as our leaders do from Brussels.

This was the system under which Angela Merkel had a privileged upbringing. She became a propaganda officer in the Freie Deutsche Jugend (Free German Youth), the communist equivalent of the Hitler Youth. They had a song with rather a jolly tune "Die Partei hat immer recht" (the party is always right). The majority of our MPs should start learning it. They could sing it as they march into the lobby.

Reader Edward in the comments on the state of democracy in the UK, the Netherlands and elsewhere in the EUnion.

Commenters are cool...

This is a crisis - linkage

I am not being facetious or sarcastic here. The European debt crisis is a crisis of monumental, historic proportion. But not in the way it is generally perceived. Whatever happens tomorrow, whatever deal is struck (if there is a deal), we can be bet on of going one of two ways: Either the EUnion will come up with something (economically) sufficient, or it will not.

If the latter the crisis of solvency will in Europe will descend into series of 'unstructured' defaults. Possibly including a break up of the euro-zone as member states like Germany, Holland and Finland take leave of the single currency. If the former, the can will have been kicked down the road, without solving the core problem that ails Europe at the moment. But we will have lost any chance of reconquering sovereignty, and indeed any meaningful form of democracy. As we wrote earlier, the choice is now between being poorer, but free, or being a serf that is very much poorer.

On this side of the aisle there is a measure of optimism, in the sense that whatever is decided, political difference between Germany and France (most notably) will ensure an outcome that is a lame duck, will not convince the markets, will be the equivalent of pouring blood into the coastal waters of South Africa, where the jumping-jack Great Whites roam. Additionally, there is the ever more persistent rumour that Germany is secretly printing Deutsch Marks in preparation of a pull out of the euro.

I'd like to, but I don't share that optimism. The debate in the Bundestag today, and especially the contribution of Frau 'the goal is a stability union' Merkel doesn't even begin to hint at Germans planning mischief, alas. Rather, it is witness to an ideologically blinkered faith, an article of faith, that the euro is sine qua non for a functioning continent. That without the euro, Europe will descend into a chaotic mess of war, poverty and deprivation it never knew in its history.

Having followed the EUnions ascension to a fully fledged one-party state over the last five years, what I fear most is this: The gravity of the situation is hyped up to such an extent that national politicians (longs since having take leave of being national leaders) will think they can get away with accepting any solution to this crisis. Up to and including a new palace coup that will cement the EUnion and plunge us into a fiscal and political union (I mean, what else do we understand to be a 'stability union'?). If anything, the EUnion is brilliant at conjuring up a 'solution', like a rabbit from a magicians top hat, that will somehow or other further increase the power of the unelected and unelectable cabal making up the EUnions leadership. It may well be that we will wake up tomorrow, to find we have been given over, by our national political elites, to the whims of Barosso, Van Rompuy and whoever the super-commissioner for budgetary affairs (as proposed by our very own PM, Mark Rutte, the Dutch definition of a europlastic) is going to be.

Maybe I am overly pessimistic. Dr. North seems to think so, tracking the 'decline and fall' of the European project. In all likelihood Dr. North is more right then I am. But even then, I fear the damage that our so-called leaders will do to us, our savings and our livelihoods before they concede defeat. This is not a happy story. This really is a crisis.

Below I've put some links that shed a little light on the feasibility (or not) of 'leveraging' the EFSF, as is being talked about in Brussels as I write this. It is now a little past midnight. What will the morrow bring?

IMF GREEK PULLOUT : We’re la-la-la-looking the other way….

There Is No Bailout Spoon

The sirens are calling EU leaders towards the rocks

Four Facts that PROVE the EFSF Doesn’t Matter… At All

The Saved and the Damned

Trichet Repeats Call For European Finance Ministry, Abdication Of National Sovereignty

... and is boo-ed off stage

[UPDATE001] Ambrose Evans-Pritchard gives us the verdict:

So, EMU break-up is Verboten, fiscal union is Verboten, full mobilization of the ECB – either to lift the South off the reefs through reflation, or to back-stop the system as a lender-of-last resort – is Verboten. Germany will have none of it.

Instead we have the summit conclusions – EUCO 116/11 of October 27 2011 – and a great deal of coercion. Please tell me what exactly has been solved.

The Slog and his Bankfurt Mole are even more succinct: The deal heralded throughout the European press today can now be revealed as a content-free sham cobbled together at the last moment

Makes you wonder what the heads of state said for goodbyes. "See you in a week or two"?

AWOL, but not for long

As you, dear reader, may have noticed, I've been away from my PC and any meaningful internet connection for the last few days. My sincere apologies for forgetting to give you all a heads-up.

As we (well, I, for one) await coming Wednesday with equal measures of dread and hope, I hope to be able to shoot off a few posts before then. Thanks for your patience.

Killing love

Reader DP111 alerted us to the story of Spanish authorities investigating the recent deaths by poisoning of more than a dozen dogs in Lérida, a city in the northeastern region of Catalonia. The city has become ground zero in an intensifying debate over the role of Islam in Spain.

Local residents say Muslim immigrants killed the dogs because according to Islamic teaching dogs are "unclean" animals.
Over the past several months, residents taking their dogs for walks have been harassed by Muslim immigrants opposed to seeing the animals in public. Muslims have also launched a number of anti-dog campaigns on Islamic websites and blogs based in Spain.

In response to the "lack of sufficient police to protect the neighbourhood," 50 local residents have established alternating six-person citizen patrols to escort people walking their dogs.

In July, two Islamic groups based in Lérida asked city officials to regulate the presence of dogs in public spaces so they do not "offend Muslims." Muslims are demanding that dogs be banned from all forms of public transportation including all city buses as well as from all areas frequented by Muslim immigrants.

Muslims in Lérida say the presence of dogs violates their religious freedom and their right to live according to Islamic principles.

Gates of Vienna picked up the story with comment by Anestos Canelides observing:

As a proud owner of a beautiful black Labrador, I was at first enraged, but then I realized that as the Muslim populations grows — not just in Spain, but in Europe and America as well — we could well see more of this barbarism. I cannot believe this group represents all Muslims, but it makes me wonder if this is the a beginning step towards forcing dhimmi status on the infidels of Lerida. Currently the largely immigrant Muslim population is 20% of the total population.

This is of course not the first time problems in muslim-dog relations have reared their ugly head (see references here, for instance). The sole justification for this inhumanity to fellow creatures is Muhammed saying 'angels won’t enter a house with a dog in it', evidently because the poor darling was afraid of them.

Whether you're a dog lover or not, there is no denying the capability, the predisposition of a dog for unconditional love to its owners and (human) pack members. Of all species humanity made it's subject and servant, dogs are truly the best friend Man can have.

Doesn't this episode show the epitome of everything that is wrong with islam? On the word of one deranged man, who shed his unfortunate coil 1400 years ago, muslims, too many of them, hold in contempt, to the point of ruthless slaughtering, the one species that civilized Man accepts as the archetype of unconditional love. In an all too literal sense they delight in killing love. Now, ask yourself if these... people... are capable of such ruthless barbarism towards dogs, what will their approach to everything else they hold in contempt? Like us, Infidels.

‘A Muslim can never be a Democrat’

From the KV mailbox an online video of Cities Against Islamization (CAI) concerning the spread of Islamic extremism in Europe . It is a compilation of stunning quotes by Abu Imran, the leader of the fundamentalist organization Sharia4Belgium. Among others, he declares that a Muslim can never be a democrat, that all Muslims are obliged to support terrorism as a part of Jihad, and that every insult to the Prophet should be dreadfully avenged.

These days islamic radicals and muslim radicalism have dropped off the radar a bit. Certainly on this blog. But it isn't misplaced to post a reminder every now and then that they're still here. Their goals have not changed, their demeanour hasn't softened. They're quietly continuing their subversive work. They're still dangerous. And they still must be fought.

Flight of the cowards

Via His Grace we get the news that militant atheist Richard Dawkins is not as intrepid as he likes to portray himself: Does Richard Dawkins exist?

Something is afoot in Oxford. The Christians are fighting back. To herald the 'Reasonable Faith Tour' with William Lane Craig, Oxford's buses are carrying the slogan: There's Probably No Dawkins. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Oct 25th at the Sheldonian Theatre.

The advertising campaign follows Richard Dawkins' refusal to debate the existence of God with philosopher William Lane Craig as he visits the UK this month. He has an open invitation to debate Professor Craig at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre on 25th October. The Oxford bus campaign echoes the 2009 London atheist bus advertisements: 'There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life.'

William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, California and is arguably the world's foremost defender of historic Christianity. Widely respected among academic philosophers, he has debated with many leading atheists across the world, including Peter Atkins, Daniel Dennett, Anthony Flew, AC Grayling, Christopher Hitchens, Lewis Wolpert and most recently, Sam Harris.

Harris has described Professor Craig as 'the one Christian apologist who has put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists'.

Dr Dawkins' refusal to debate Professor Craig led fellow Oxford academic Dr Daniel Came, who is an atheist himself, to write to Dr Dawkins stating that 'the absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part'.

What follows is one of the most devastating take-downs I ever had the privilege of reading on the 'Net. What shines through is Mr. Dawkins readiness to bring his intellectual prowess to bear on unsophisticated creationists, but his refusal to do so when confronted with a scholarly, thoughtful mind. Beating on those weaker then you, but running when there's a real fight in the offing. That is the hallmark of a school-yard bully, isn't it?

In the mean time, if you want to read more on the intellectually impossible position modern-day 'high church' atheists find themselves in, may I recommend The Irrational Atheist (pdf) by Vox Day. I particularly liked his demonstration of the social ineptitude of committed atheists: 'I'm an arsehole, therefore God does not exist'. That may sound crude and offensive when read out of context. But Vox Day makes a good case for the veracity of that statement.

EUnion 2100

Via Calling England we are proud to present to you: The EU 2100 Strategy . Yes, that is right, the EUnion is still convinced it will be around when the next century dawns. Or at the very least the author of this magnificent piece (pdf) is.

The author is one Iulian Oneasca. Not much is known about this character, beyond the fact that he once worked at the Institute for World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Bucharest and now works at the European Institute for Romania. Undeservedly so, for Oneasca is a brilliant mind and todays greatest humanitarian. Take for instance this insight:

[The] EU needs a life-time horizon to reinvent itself, reshape humans and heal societal and institutional structures in which they operate. (...) The passage from domination and exercise of force to global governance, the force of arguments and principles, is smooth and deliberate. This is the genuine Avatar2, the virtual projection that we are seeking for. It promotes a comprehensive approach based on the following three pillars:

• Humans and Humanity, addressing Economy, Society and Well being;
• Environment, aiming to Clean environment and Energy resources;
• Interactions, Terrestrial or Cosmic.

The quest to 'reshape humanity' is quite the issue with out Iulian. And how could it not. Humans are only limited. And left to their own devices they get up to all kinds of misschief.

a. Exclusion processes, which have developed over generations through various channels, such as cultural heritage, ethnicity or religious bigotry, are strengthened by economic deprivations.
b. The human’s cultural heritage is impregnated with germs of violence, intolerance and discrimination. [...] Adding to the exclusion, these threats may be accompanied and reinforced by resurgent nationalism and right-wing extremism that will focus on foreigners and immigrants.

But Oneasca (should we call him Dr., His Excellency? What?) has the solution to all our woes: The EUnion. And not just a little EUnion, either. No, a lifetime supply of it:

Reinventing the human being may be the proper solution. It requires thorough and early interventions that may spread over a life time. EU should enhance forming its citizens and their civic spirit.

One hopes that this type of sinister and frighteningly totalitarian eccentricity is not taken too seriously. Then again, we are talking about the EUnion here. There's not a punch-line you can think of or some EUrocrat somewhere has written a position paper seriously proposing the idea.

Needless to say that the ideal of 'reshaping humanity' is at the forefront of every progressive movement since the dawn of progressivism. It was the guiding principle of collectivism and its more virulent strains (Leninism and Stalinism for instance, but Nazism and Fascism as well). It is still at the heart of social-democrat thinking on the supposed malleability of man and society. And it is utter poppy-cock. Alas though, it is the kind of poppy-cock that plunges entire peoples and nations, even continents in misery. It's the kind of poppy-cock that kills. And if you value your humanity, it should be fought tooth and nail.

If you're interested, Prof. Dr. Dr. habil. (yes, I'm making that up) Oneasca at one time cast his considerable light on the question of Turkish accession to the EUnion. When an article starts with these words...

It is only a matter of time until European becomes an obsolete denomination of the intergovernmental organisation, while its Union component will prevail. Or at least, European would be the least significant part of the name as compared to Union, which would gather a greater substance.

... you just know you're in the presence of a towering intellect and are in for an intensely pleasurable read.

My Dear Lord, why are such people not forcibly committed?

That Belgian bank

Over on ZeroHedge somebody is seriously flabbergasted about the financial sink-hole Dexia and Belgium have got themselves into.

For starters, Dexia had 566 billion euros in debt and 19 billion euros in equity as of the end of 2010. Right off the bat, that’s a leverage ratio of 29 to 1. Lehman Brothers was leveraged at 30 to 1 when it collapsed.

Now consider that Belgium’s entire GDP is just 348 billion euros. Dexia has 566 billion euros in assets. Of this 352 billion are loans. Put another way, Dexia’s loan portfolio alone is larger than its home country’s entire economy.

AND THIS BANK PASSED THE STRESS TESTS.

Suffice to say, Europe’s banking system is in far FAR worse shape than anyone over there is admitting. The stress tests were complete and total fiction. And the market is starting to figure this out.

The markets are figuring this out only now? Have they not been paying attention? When things get serious YOU HAVE TO LIE. That is what one of the foremost EUnion top banana said himself. That is the EUnion way.

Makes you wonder, though, what else is hiding in the closet of the room where the stress test was taken, doesn't it?

Rather don't want to know

In Egypt the much-vaunted 'Arab Spring' is asserting itself in an entirely predictable, but still intensely tragic way. Tonight Egyptian military police opened fire on a Coptic march protesting the attack on a Coptic church in Aswan on September 30, carried out by muslim Egyptians.

Police first fired shots into the air and subsequently shot into the crowds.

As the shots fired, people panicked and a military vehicle ran over protesters.

E.J. Bron carries some pretty horrific pictures of the blood bath being perpetrated on the Copts. Egypt state TV quoting health minister, reports 23 dead and 174 injured. Jihad Watch has more.

The proximate cause of this tragedy is a group of muslims setting fire to a church in a village in Aswan Governorate, 800km south of Cairo. Earlier that week a group of Salafis had warned Christians not to leave their homes in Marinab unless they removed the dome from Saint George's Church, which was restored this month.

The real scandal in this tragedy, however, is the way the European and other 'correct-thinking' MSM are treating this. Dutch NOS: A protest by by hundreds of Christian Copts deteriorated into riots. The NYT: Church Protests in Cairo Turn Deadly. The BBC is even more egregious: Egypt troops dead after Coptic church protest in Cairo.

That so-called Arab Spring is turning into a hate-fest of muslim fanatics (is there another kind? One wonders at these occasions) spring-cleaning muslim lands from any minority with a different world-view. But our MSM, infested with the flower children of years past (for Gods sake, go and enjoy your pensions, you useless swine), would rather not know that their pet project is turning into something altogether much less likeable.

If you are so inclined, say a little prayer for the Copts in Egypt. I will too.

[UPDATE001] The BBC have stealth-edited their atrocious headline, but Google does not forget. In the mean time: Underdog News threw up a couple of background pieces on the Coptic situation. From Hudson New York: Egypt Destroying Churches, One at a Time: Muslim Brotherhood: "No More Churches" and from American Thinker: Christians aren't going to take it any more in Egypt.

Your Sunday read(s)

For the second time in as many weeks I've come across a post highlighting an aspect of the current global economic crisis that is worrying and potentially very dangerous. Golem XIV has a post up entitled Democracy or the Banks – which do you want? A rather pertinent question, because who stands to lose most if the economy goes from crisis to full meltdown? Not us, below-the-liners.

The French elite face the ruin of their banks and the confiscation of their wealth contained therein. The German elites are no longer sure they are best served by making common cause with their French counterparts. Whatever they agree to let us remember it is their wealth not our pensions which are most at risk here.

But in that fact may also hide the single biggest threat to democracy in Europe.

There is a growing feeling among the financial elite that democracy cannot be allowed to get in the way of their management. I think we are on the brink of an profound, history changing assault on Democracy in Europe.

I think the financial elite will attempt to create a new organization (a European IMF an EMF) and put it beyond and above democratic control. They will talk about it in terms of making it ‘independent’ of politics. But in reality it will be nothing less than the creation of a government above democracy. Democracy will continue much as the Roman Senate continued under the Caesars . It will become, even more than it already is, nothing more than the high status venue of choice for the wealthy to pursue favour, fortune and position.

This might sound a bit hysterical, were it not for the fact that Saturday last week The Slog noticed some peculiar movements in the financial market en reported them in How the Money is consolidating its grip on people and politics.

However, in scanning and site-surfing for data over the last week, one particular trend seems to be ticking away in the background – if trends, like time-bombs, tick. This involves the quiet moves going on around the world to consolidate all types of bourses and exchanges into fewer and fewer hands.

The increasing mergers of stock exchanges into three groups – centred in turn in Asia, Europe and the Americas, but global in their reach, spells a lot of news that is not good for anyone who holds democracy and (personal) sovereignty dear.

What we can already see in the US, the UK and the EU however is a succession of political bigwigs scared witless of telling the financial community to jump off the nearest pier. Bankers and sovereign lenders generally are not as stupid as they sometimes appear. In the EU, they’re refusing to take a haircut on their bad debts – yet they know that the result of that will be global meltdown. So why are they doing it? Because, I suspect, of that ancient Japanese proverb I just invented: ‘Government with no money not regulate. In fact, not do anything except what told.’

Everyone from the wackiest libertarian to the most dyed in the wool capitalist needs to keep an eye on this, writes The Slog. It feels like the real folks are going to wind up getting screwed royally. And if you control the money and the mouthpieces, there’s not a lot the Resistance can do.

Read it all. Yes, all.

Gold answers

Not too long ago, KV featured a post about the gold reserves held by the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB; Dutch National Bank). Back then we were wondering: The gold that DNB is claiming to hold, is it actually there?

Friend of KV Vrijspreker has a post up, relaying answers by the DNB, via the state secretary for Economic Affairs. Unfortunately it is more bland, opaque politico speech that doesn't quite answer everything. This is interesting, though:

5. What was the most important reason for DNB to sell the gold in the past? Are the storage costs a reason? What are the actual costs to store the gold?

By selling gold in the past, DNB has tried to align its gold holdings with other gold holding countries. The storage costs were not a factor in the decision to sell the gold, because they are relatively low. Currently, DNB’s total annual storage costs paid to other central banks amount to a few hundreds of thousands of euros. The costs vary per location.

(...)

6. Can you confirm that since 1991 of the 1700 tons of gold about 1100 tons have been sold? Is the remark of journalist Peter de Waard correct that because of these historic sales there is a loss of about 30 billion euro? If not correct, what is the right amount?

Since 1991, 1,100 tons of gold have been sold. Back then it was concluded that DNB held relatively much gold compared to other central banks. [It was decided] to align the amount of gold with other important gold owning countries. Sales proceeds have been added to DNB’s general reserves and have been invested in interest generating investments. Comparing the actual, as a result of the financial crisis, higher gold price with the historical gold price does indeed lead to more or less the amount as mentioned by Mr. De Waard. However, one has to take into account the investment income generated since selling the gold and the fact that the result of said calculations heavily depend of the strongly fluctuating price of gold.

Why? Which other countries? What is the purpose of that policy? Was this a coordinated affair? If so, on whose orders? As Vrijspreker remarks: Many, many questions remain.

Compare and contrast

So... we have a government that is trying to save money. In order to do so they cut the defence budget by 1 billion euros, necessitating the liquidation of our armed forces. At the same time, this government, having to save money, spends a cool 5.3 billion on off-shore windfarms. A government, moreover, whose PM once said, while campaigning, that windfarms are useless and only 'run on subsidies'.

As Dr. North is wont to say: And the reason we all do not rise up and slaughter them is...? (via)

Just so you know

The Prevailing Debate Among Economists and Historians is Whether the World Economy Faces the ‘Great’ Depression of the 1930s or the ‘Long’ Depression of the 1870s

Via ZeroHedge: Economists Agree: We’re In a Depression.

Blue Poodles

As expected Dutch Second Chamber approved the new expanded mandate of the EFSF. Less expected was the embarrassing manner in which it was approved. Via Elsevier (NL) we learn that our intrepid parliament passed ratification of the proposal to enlarge the EFSF without a vote.

This should not come as a surprise because the PM Mark Rutte and Finmin Jan Kees de Jager had already agreed to an enlargement of Dutch guarantees from 40 billion to 100 billion (100 billion ~ 17% GDP, a whopping 1/6th of what we collectively make in a year) back on July 21st.

Both Second Chamber and financial minister De Jager are convinced a formal decision, including a vote, is not needed. There is a majority for the proposal anyhow, so an ‘implicit’ and hence ‘silent’ agreement is all that is needed. According to Elsevier it is unclear what has moved Second Chamber and the government to forego an open and legitimate parliamentary approval, by vote, of the quite substantial enlargement of both the liquidity and the mandate of the EFSF. “Without so much as a dedicate plenary debate or a vote on a facilitating law proposal, the Netherlands takes a far-reaching, highly fundamental and potentially very costly European step”.

Unclear? Really? What we have here is a majority of our MP’s openly abdicating their responsibility, breaking their oath and betraying their constituency. Parliament used to be the forum through which the Dutch people could supervise government, limiting its power curbing its tendency for absolutism. MPs are supposed to be elected such as best represent the view of the people. MPs are solemnly sworn to uphold the constitution, be loyal to the Netherlands and to represent, to the best of their abilities, the wishes, well-being and interest of the Dutch people.

But not today, evidently. Today, a majority of Second Chamber MP’s opted to refuse to vote on an issue that will fundamentally change the balance of power within our border, in favour of Brussels, and our place within the EUnion. The underlying reason presumably is because doing so would show, very publicly, that most MPs no longer serve the people or represents its wishes and interests. Most MPs as a group are just a subset of the same self-selecting political elite our government is made of. It is there, where their true loyalty lies. Rather then the Dutch people, these MPs serve the élite. Instead of supervising government, they have made Second Chamber part of, and subservient to, the government. A government, moreover, that is by no conceivable definition ‘our’ government, but rather the local agency for the alien power that rules us from Brussels. For the Eunion, against the people.

Our MPs, the ones that are constantly insisting they represent us, that ‘representative democracy’ is such a wonderful thing, will not even allow themselves the vote, let alone us hoi-polloi. Evidently, they have given up any idea of democratic control and accountability. They don’t vote, so that we don’t get to see who votes ‘Aye’ (and note their names for knitting). They’ve rolled over and are trying to hide their shameful rolling over by avoiding to publicly display their morally empty, cowardly and worthless existence. This is the day it became undeniable that Dutch ‘representative democracy’, deeply flawed as it was, is dead.

In a way it is understandable. A public vote would mean a humiliating climb down for many an MP who is acting all tough about the new and improved EFSF (yes, I’m looking at you, Ronald Plasterk). But by sparing themselves this humiliation, they’ve shown just what cowards they really are. And do they really think this will fool us? All they’ve done is widen the chasm between them and us even further. By avoiding the public confirmation that we’ve yet again been stitched up they have acknowledged that very fact: We have been stitched up. Again.

And it reinforces once again that ‘representative democracy’ is a oligarchical sham where elections are held, but nothing changes. Essentially, it is a dictatorship by a ruling elite with harmless elections every so many years to keep up the pretence. ‘Representative democracy’ is just one more bit of evidence for the objective fact that elections do not a democracy make.

We’ve argued it before, and we are not alone: What makes a democracy is the power of the people to control those that seek to govern. Democracy is not about electing which candidate should govern us. True democracy is about controlling them once they get in office, managing their will to power and inevitable greed. The way to that power is by giving the people the power of the purse string. Direct democracy over budgets as well as big issues.

But for now we’re stuck with the bunch we have. Two weeks ago, Geert Wilders caused a bit of a furore by calling the leader of the socialists, Job Cohen, a ‘poodle’ of the cabinet, for assisting the cabinet of issues the PVV was dead-set against (rescuing the euro-zone, for instance). As of today, the entire political class of useless jobsworths occupying the blue seats in The Hague can be classed under the same breed of canine pets: Poodles for the Eunion, blue poodles. It is a nauseating, contemptible display to watch.

Fading halo

While the European MSM is still truly madly deeply in love with American president Barack Obama, at home the halo of 'the One' is fading rapidly. The latest is the news that the House Judiciary has requested a special prosecutor to investigate attorney general Eric Holder.

The question is whether Holder committed perjury during a Judiciary Committee hearing on May 3. At the time, Holder indicated he was not familiar with with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program known as Fast and Furious until about April 2011.

“I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,” Holder testified.However, a newly discovered memo dated July 2010 shows Michael Walther, director of the National Drug Intelligence Center, told Holder that straw buyers in the Fast and Furious operation “are responsible for the purchase of 1,500 firearms that were then supplied to the Mexican drug trafficking cartels.”

So what? You may wonder. But this about more, much more then just a simple case of fibbing before a House Committee.

Operation Fast and Furious was part of Project Gunrunner. Nominally this was a project to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico, in an attempt to deprive the Mexican drug cartels of weapons. However, during F&F the Bureasu for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) knowingly let some 2,500 weapons be smuggled into Mexico without interference. Weapons that later turned up in criminal acts within US borders, some of them involving killings of American citizens. Other reports suggest hundreds of Mexican lives were taken by weapons originating in the United States and knowingly passed into the hands of dangerous drug cartel criminals in Mexico.

The White House top, Eric Holder in particular, have always denied knowing about this project, maintaining it was a purely ATF initiative. Recently however, documents have turned up tying Eric Holder directly to the operation, something he has been denying all along. Holder then changed his story by stating he did not fully understand the question put before him by the Congressional committee: He knew about Operation Fast and Furious but did not at that time know all the details.

The allegations of perjury are bad enough, but Ulsterman's White House Insider alleges a whole new level of corruption:

Been told there is a memo, or was a memo, tying Fast and Furious directly to some kind of proposed gun control legislation or plan. Not certain how developed it was. Something that was pending . The memo is a direct link between the program and the gun control issue. An entire coordinated effort that required people to be killed.

If this is true then not only is Eric Holder involved. This would go to the absolute top of the White House. It would seem that Obama has just lost any chance of re-election. And perhaps he should count himself lucky if he is spared impeachment.

Related reading:

White House Insider: “They Are Crumbling In Amongst Themselves”
White House Insider: Obama “Isolated…Ignorant”

Your Sunday read

Or Monday morning read, as the case may be. It is a piece by the inestimable Dr. North, entitled 'Of democrats and autocrats '.

It is a piece arguing very cogently that elections do not a democracy make. True 'power to the people' is in controlling those that seek to rule us. Something which eludes us, common folks, at the moment.

Representative democracy, as practised in the Netherlands is all well and good, until we encounter the situation where 63% of the population reject a European 'Constitution' that is supported by 85% of our elected MPs. When only 85 Bundestag members, out of a 611, vote according to the wishes of at least 70% of the German people, there is a problem with 'representative' democracy in this, the second decade of the 21st century.

As Dr. North notes, the line which once marked the division between left and right has now rotated ninety degrees. We are no longer left or right, but above the line or below it. Most of us are below it and those above are trying very hard to shut us out of the decision loop. It is time to resist being side-lined. It is time to retake our responsibilities as citizens of our homes.

With Dr. North, I am convinced that there is to be far greater trust in the sense of the people than there is in the good faith of the ruling élites.

My fundamental premise is that, in a society where people truly have power, they will grow into their responsibilities and use their power wisely. Even if they do not always do so, they can do no worse than our élites, who periodically "guide" us to war, famine and disaster, all in the name of peace and stability.

Democracy, therefore, is the destination. We seek democracy, in its true sense, not the pastiche that masquerades as such.

As long as we partake in the elections we're served, given the choice between variations of the exact same colour and creed, we will not have gained anything. We will still be ruled, we will not be truly free.

Free people do not have rulers. Their governments are servants.

If you still have that idealistic streak about you, even after all these years, this is the fundamental thought to get behind, to strife for: Give us the power to control our rulers, give us the power over the purse strings.

It is a longish piece, but well worth the read. The principles laid out apply beyond the borders of the British Isles. It is, I think, well worth something to keep in mind as we head into the storm

Does not a summer make

From the mountainous centre of Europe, Switzerland, we get some news of worms turning and first swallows arriving.

First up there is the infuriating story of Muslims trying to eradicate the hosts identity where they can: Immigrants Want Cross Removed from Swiss Flag.

An immigrant group based in Bern has called for the emblematic white cross to be removed from the Swiss national flag because as a Christian symbol it "no longer corresponds to today's multicultural Switzerland."

Ivica Petrusic, the vice president of Second@s Plus, a lobbying group that represents mostly Muslim second-generation foreigners in Switzerland (who colloquially are known as secondos) says the group will launch a nationwide campaign in October to ask Swiss citizens to consider adopting a flag that is less offensive to Muslim immigrants.

In a September 18 interview with the Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung, Petrusic said the cross has a Christian background and while the Christian roots of Switzerland should be respected, "it is necessary to separate church and state" because "Switzerland today has a great religious and cultural diversity. One has to ask if the State wants to continue building up a symbol in which many people no longer believe."

In the interview, Petrusic said Switzerland needs new symbols with which everyone, including non-Christians, can identify. As an alternative to the current Swiss flag (see image here), Petrusic proposed the former flag of the Helvetic Republic (see image here) which was officially introduced in 1799 and consisted of green, red and yellow colors. "Those colors are similar to the current flags of Bolivia and Ghana and would represent a more progressive and open-minded Switzerland," Petrusic said.

This is a school example of how the destruction of identity is couched in such lovely terms as 'progressive' and 'open-minded'. There's a lesson here.

But that is not the main point. This is: Reactions to this absurd proposal where furious all round:

The proposal to change the Swiss flag has been met with outrage across the political spectrum and is sure to fuel anti-immigrant sentiments in Switzerland. (...)

The issue of Muslim immigration to Switzerland has been a hotly debated topic in recent years and the flag controversy is sure to add fuel to the fire.

The Muslim population in Switzerland has more than quintupled since 1980, and now numbers about 400,000, or roughly 5% of the population. Most Muslims living in Switzerland are of Turkish or Balkan origin, with a smaller minority from the Arab world. Many of them are second- and third-generation immigrants who are now firmly establishing themselves in Switzerland.

The new Muslim demographic reality is raising tensions across large parts of Swiss society, especially as Muslims become more assertive in their demands for greater recognition of their Islamic faith.

The ensuing controversies are fuelling a debate over the role of Islam in Swiss society and how to reconcile Western values with a growing immigrant population determined to avoid assimilation.

And thus it seems that this particular proposal is back-firing spectacularly. There's an example to remember!

But it doesn't end there. We all remember the Swiss minaret referendum, don't we? At the time it was expected by many on the other side of the issue that the ban on the construction of mosque minarets would not survive exposure to the European Court of Human Rights.

But they were wrong.

The news has not been widely reported. I wasn't aware of it until today, when a kind reader left a note in the KV mailbox. The note contained this link: Swiss Minaret Ban Survives Legal Challenge.

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected two cases brought by Muslims against Switzerland's constitutional ban on building minarets, the tower-like structures on mosques from which Muslims are often called to prayer.

A seven-judge panel at the Strasbourg-based court said on July 8 that it would not consider the cases as the plaintiffs failed to show how the ban harmed their human rights and they therefore "cannot claim to be 'victims' of a violation" of the European Convention on Human Rights, which the court enforces.

So, what do we have here? Are these the first swallows to announce the proverbial summer? One swallow does not a summer make. I know. But both of these items may show that in Europe at least muslim activists are overplaying their hand. The system may be about to turn against them. And about time too!

However, you do have to wonder why this news, dating back to July, never made the main headlines. I've asked it before, but fears of repeating myself be damned: Where the HELL is our intrepid MSM?