tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228587372019-03-09T12:10:22.634+01:00Klein VerzetA small voice in the cacophony, a little finger in an increasingly soggy dike.Girl 999noreply@blogger.comBlogger1607125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-40203971957914264642019-02-02T10:13:00.003+01:002019-02-02T10:13:49.856+01:00Reasons To Think About Selling Gold For CashAs far back as human history can tell us, gold has been of great value. People have been using it as a symbol of power and wealth for ages and will continue to do so for years to come. If you take for example the great gold rush in California in the'00's, where nothing was more important than striking it rich, you can see just how far people will go for this valuable precious metal. Most would sell this precious material but there were many who would just keep it as their most prized possession. Truly gold has always been an important part of society.<br /><br />And today is no different ' the price of gold is extremely high going for over $1050 an ounce. Some say it may even double that in the near future. This is one of the main reasons that people are starting to sell off their old gold items that they don't want anymore. There may be some gold in your home that you don't use anymore that is just collecting dust in a jewelry box and you're wondering what to do with it. Well the answer is simple sell it for cash. But how do you get the most cash for your gold?<br /><br />Gold buyers are just waiting to give cash for gold you may have. Examples of old gold jewelry you may consider selling are an earring set with one earring missing, a necklace or bracelet that is broken or rings you no longer wear. Any type of scrap gold like this can be put to good use by bringing you cash ' cash you can use any way you like. The jewelry doesn't have to be broken for you to sell it. Perhaps, you no longer wear the items or just don't like them anymore. If you are not using the gold jewelry any price might be the right price for your gold jewelry.<br /><br />If you are looking to part with your unused or broken old gold jewelry, you can contact a gold buyer with a good reputation verified by the BBB and they will offer you cash for gold jewelry or scrap gold items. After sending you a gold kit, you can decide which used jewelry pieces you want to sell. Gold is in more than just jewelry so do a search around your house for any old gold items you have hidden away. Your gold kit will have labels for you to use to send back your scrap jewelry or items to them. Upon receiving your jewelry, they'll appraise it and either mail you the appraisal amount with an offer or they'll just send you the money, which you can accept or reject. Of course, if you reject their offer, the reputable gold buyers will return your jewelry or scrap gold back to you.<br /><br />There are a few factors that might change how much cash you receive for your gold. For instance pure gold, or 24 karat gold, is what the spot price of gold is based on. But gold jewelry is almost never 24 karats as that would make it far too soft and easily broken. The price you get from the gold refiners will depend on how many karats your gold is. Also you have to take into consideration that the price of gold changes daily so what you see today may not be the same price tomorrow. The price may change day to day or it might just stay the same. Many gold buyers will let you lock in the current price when you contact them, which may or may not be a good thing.Girl 999https://plus.google.com/117871488207961127936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-85246560718229603782019-02-02T10:00:00.003+01:002019-02-02T10:00:53.994+01:00Ecology and Life - Centered IssuesSome contemporary artists seek ways to engage people directly in thinking critically and taking action about life-centered environmental and community-based issues.<br /><br />They believe that for healthy systemic ecological change to occur, individuals will need to question their own world views, and perhaps change the way they live from day to day. Mary Jane Jacobs suggests that new genre public art "<i>must reach those for whom the art's subject is a critical life issue.</i>"<br /><br />What are these life-centered issues and how do they compose the social, cultural, and historic fabric of daily living? How have artists dealt with life-centered ecological issues through their art? Paolo Soleri created a plan for an Arizona community based on limited energy resources. Viet Ngo works with larg-scale communities to construct sewage treatment plants that use plant life and wetlands to purify water.<br /><br />Alan Sonfist has restored portions of urban landscapes with historic memories by reintroducing indigenous plants and animals. Some contemporary ecological artists address broad life-centered issues such as unfair labor practices, overpopulation,water contamination, toxic chemicals, nuclear waste, fossil fuel consumption, animal extinction, animal rights, forest depletion, soil erosion, and changing climate patterns, to name a few ecological concerns.<br /><br />At the heart of these issues are views about community participation, communication, and ecological sustainability.<br /><br /><h3>Community Participation</h3>Community involvement is a prerequisite for significant, large-scale change. Definitions of community are elusive. It is used here to mean the integrative sets of relationships among people and their environment, organized around specific activities within a particular geographic location. For contemporary ecological artists, audience participation is a must.<br /><br />Community participation is advocated as a means to promote positive socio-ecologicaland political-economic change. Artists are working with many different groups of people. Mierle Laderman Ukeles shook the hand of every sanitation worker in New York city during her eleven month performance called Touch Sanitation (1979-1980).<br /><br />Her artist-in-residence stay with the New York Sanitation Department culminated in heightened awareness about the problems of public waste.<br />Dialogue and Communication<br /><br />Establishing supportive dialogue among a community of voices is critical for building strong and lasting ecological connections. One of the criticisms of some public art performances and installations is that artists frequently complete their work and leave.<br /><br />Many contemporary ecological artists strive to work closely with communities through open, public forums and by building partnerships that lead to ecologically sustainable ways of living. Through their art forms, artists engage community members in dialogue about a web of relationships that includes art, aesthetics, ecology, and culture.<br /><br />Since 1977, Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison have spent many years traveling the globe, working with community people on long-term projects that last a month to several years, and examining and responding to environmental changes within particular ecosystems.<br /><br />Barbara Matilsky (1992) wrote, After firsthand study, research, and interviews with ecologists, biologists, and planners, the artists create a photographic narrative that identifies the problem, questions the system of beliefs that allow the conditions to develop, and proposes initiatives to counter environmental damage.<br /><br />Exhibiting their art in a public forum--like a museum, library, city hall--usually stimulates discussion, debate, and media attention. By communicating to the public the problems that confront a fragile ecosystem and the ways in which the balance can be restored, they exert pressure on the political system and rally public opinion in an attempt to avert ecological disaster (pp. 66-67).<br /><br />The Harrisons' educational practices include documentation and public dialogue, which are important aspects of their working process. It is assumed that positive ecological change requires a deep commitment on the part of many dedicated individuals and groups of people. New genre public artists facilitate work across disciplinary boundaries and negotiate community conflicts through dialogue, negotiation, and compromise. These community-based ecological actions require patience and collaboration.<br /><br /><h3>Ecological Sustainability</h3>Some contemporary ecological artists believe what matters most is ecological sustainability. Artists working toward ecological sustainability have as their task the responsibility of "<i>finding alternatives to the practices that got us into the trouble in the first place; it is necessary to rethink agriculture, shelter, energy use, urban design, transportation, economics, community patterns, resource use, forestry, the importance of wilderness, and our central values.</i>" (David Orr, 1992, Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York Press.)<br /><br />One example of ecological sustainability through art is Mel Chin'sRevival Field (1990-present) in St. Paul Minnesota. Chin worked with Rufus L. Chaney, a Senior Research Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to develop plans for the "green remediation" of toxic waste from the Pig's Eye landfill. Chaney developed hyperaccumulator plants for extracting toxic substances from the soil through the plant's vascular system. The goal of the artist was to eventually restore the area for plants, animals, and humans. In this way art, aesthetics, ecology, and culture become inseparable.<br /><br />Methods commonly employed to initiate ecological sustainability include artistic actions, rituals, performances, and process dramas. It is important to understand, however, that ecological sustainability has many meanings. Van Der Ryn & Cowan (1996) point out.<br /><br />Sustainability is not a single movement or approach. It is as varied as the communities and interests currently grappling with the issues it raises. The shape that it will take is being contested now, and the stakes are high.<br /><br />On the one hand, sustainability is the province of global policy-makers and environmental experts flying at thirty-five thousand feet from conference to conference. On the other hand, sustainability is also the domain of grassroots environmental and social groups, indigenous peoples preserving traditional practices, and people committed to changing their own communities. Girl 999https://plus.google.com/117871488207961127936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-55004200856254969452012-03-15T19:24:00.000+01:002012-03-15T19:24:25.233+01:00Quote of the day<blockquote>The God-given rights revealed in the Judaeo-Christian scriptures and developed under the Anglo-American Enlightenment tradition of Natural Law have been usurped by a European Union Napoleonic system in which the state has become the ultimate arbiter of what privileges (‘rights’) are permitted and what liberties are protected. The state has been made omnipotent and has become both judge and jury, responsible for prosecution and punishment. And anyone who presumes to oppose any of this is labeled ‘extremist’ or ‘xenophobic’, and may now be subject to ‘limitations’ which meet the ‘objectives...recognised by the Union’.</blockquote><a href="http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2012/03/government-signs-up-for-eu-dna-sharing.html">His Grace</a> on the EUnion 'justice' system.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-89671497328468777822012-03-14T23:35:00.000+01:002012-03-14T23:35:03.174+01:00Question<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/03/14/hey_serbia_be_careful_what_you_wish_for?page=full">Why Would Anyone Want to Join the EU?</a><blockquote>The fundamental problem with the EU, however, is that the people of Europe have no faith in it and do not identify with it. A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that only 49 percent of EU citizens think their country's EU membership is a "good thing," while only 42 percent trust EU institutions. Meanwhile, those institutions, like the EU's whole ethos, are positively anti-democratic. Its key decision-making bodies -- the European Council, Court of Justice, and European Commission -- are, for all practical purposes, unelected, unaccountable, and removed from the people (commissioners are usually washed-up has-beens whose political careers in their home states have ended in failure). Their decisions are irreversible in national parliaments, and the European Parliament, while vested with powers of co-decision-making with the European Council, is also remote. The Parliament is a glorified debating society -- not a government with an official opposition -- and its parties cannot promise any fundamental policy changes in their election manifestos; indeed, its election outcomes rarely have an impact on the course of EU politics. Its members are unknown and despised as opportunists who merely seek inflated salaries, perks, expenses, and pensions. Voter turnout in the EU's parliamentary elections is low and falling, reflecting the widely held belief among EU citizens that the EU doesn't protect or represent their interests.</blockquote>No further comment required, methinks.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-8455855524406775702012-03-14T22:05:00.000+01:002012-03-14T22:31:22.896+01:00Tolerance that is notOne really has to read it to believe it: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9140869/Dantes-Divine-Comedy-offensive-and-should-be-banned.html">Dante's Divine Comedy 'offensive and should be banned'</a>.<blockquote>It is a world-renowned work of literature and one of the foundation stones of the Italian language, but Dante's Divine Comedy has been condemned as racist, homophobic, anti-Islamist and anti-Semitic. <br /><br />The classic work should be removed from school curricula, according to Gherush 92, a human rights organisation which acts as a consultant to UN bodies on racism and discrimination.<br /><br />Dante's epic is "offensive and discriminatory" and has no place in a modern classroom, said Valentina Sereni, the group's president. (...)<br /><br />Schoolchildren and university students who studied the work lacked "the filters" to appreciate its historical context and were being fed a poisonous diet of anti-Semitism and racism, the group said. It called for the Divine Comedy to be removed from schools and universities or at least have its more offensive sections fully explained.</blockquote>As the Anchoress <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2012/03/14/ban-the-divine-comedy-really/">writes</a>, this is where the bastardization of the meaning “tolerance” has taken us: People who fancy themselves as broad-minded intellectuals support the banning of a classic in world literature. <br /><br />So, what's next? A bonfire on Times Square where all and sundry will be invited to throw copies of <i>La Divina Commedia</i> into the blaze?<br /><br />Vox Day comes to the conclusion that <a href="voxday.blogspot.com/2012/03/to-hell-with-secular-society.html">Muslims have the right idea</a> after all: secularism merits nothing more than being stamped out, ruthlessly and without remorse.<blockquote>Secular progressives are totalitarians and book-burners every bit as fanatical as religious extremists they decry. They always have been, they just build their cultural walls one stealthy and dishonest brick at a time.</blockquote>Who will rid us of these troublesome fools?<br />Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-12479391412495274642012-03-13T12:27:00.002+01:002012-03-13T12:34:06.675+01:00Not whether, but howVia <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/03/house-without-foundation.html">GoV</a> we learn of <a href="http://europenews.dk/de/node/52591">an open letter</a>, written by Spanish German (or German Spaniard) Marco Pino, addressed to Helmut Kohl and through him all EUrocrat ideologues. In the letter Mr. Pino argues not for more or less 'Europe', but for a better Europe, a Europe that functions. A Europe for all, nit just the elites.<br /><br />It sets out in remarkable clarity what is wrong with the EUnion, and why it will lead to the exact opposite of what the EUnion clais it is for. The closing is particularly strong, arguing that those of us who loath the EUnion at least share the vision of a prosperous and peaceful continent. Where we and the EUrocrats part ways is in our vehement opposition to the means employed by the EUrocrats. It is not whether we want peace and prosperity. It is how we will achieve it.<br /><br />The letter is, I think, important enough to reproduce in full. I recommend reading it and spreading it around.<blockquote><b>For a Free Europe!<br />An Open Letter to Helmut Kohl</b><br /><br />March 1, 2012<br />by Marco Pino<br /><br /><i>In a <a href="http://www.bild.de/politik/inland/helmut-kohl/wie-soll-europa-in-zukunft-aussehen-22864952.bild.html">recent essay for BILD magazine</a>, former Chancellor Kohl appeals to Germans not to lose sight of the goal of a united Europe. Now, in crisis, more Europe would be needed, not less.<br /><br />Blu co-founder Marco Pino, has a somewhat different opinion: the decisive question is not whether Europe is needed, but in what way. What is needed is a Europe that functions.</i><br /><br />* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *<br /><br />Dear Dr. Helmut Kohl,<br /><br />It is with great interest that I read your essay on the Euro crisis in BILD magazine. And although I am not entirely in agreement with you, I thank you for this essay.<br /><br />Your comments show that there is a general conflict in this country in this instance (as also in many other important matters). On the one hand are people like you, the oldest and most experienced who are still — understandably — under the influence of the last great war. There is the generation after them — the ’68 generation who reformed our society and are firmly convinced that everything they represented was right without exception and must remain permanently viable.<br /><br />And there is my generation with its own experiences. For us, in our 20s and 30s, your evocation of European peace sounds like a relic of a time long past. Haven’t we had peace in Europe for as long as my generation can think? Didn’t we already have it when there were still border controls and national currencies? Were Germany, France and the other present-day Euro-states not — as long as my generation can remember — peaceful democracies, reconciled and allied? And was it really the idea of European integration which broke through the Iron Curtain and brought peace and freedom to the east of the continent? Or was it not rather the idea of democracy itself that laid the cornerstone of peace and liberty in Europe (as elsewhere)?<br /><br />My generation worries more about the future than the past. Will we too enjoy the benefits of a pension? Will our children and grandchildren still grow up in prosperity? How will Germany look — how will Europe look — if the great social problems of the present continue to be unresolved? Those problems that your generation hardly notices, to which the ’68ers frantically close their eyes, which now we, the following generation, must be the first to experience firsthand? Foreign infiltration, rising violence, brutalization, plummeting educational standards. Increasing poverty. as a result of all that — and inflation besides. Burgeoning extremism of every hue as an unavoidable consequence. All that leads to the worry of whether peace and freedom will last long in Europe.<br /><br />I am communicating this concern to you. As to why this concern is necessary, however, we differ fundamentally. That is the result of different life experiences. That makes it so much more important that the two sides listen to each other.<br /><br /><br />Europe’s intellectuals are making a big mistake. They see, without exception, nationalism as the cause of the wars of the past. No doubt it played a large role, but not the only one. Another substantial factor which promotes the development of crises and conflicts is poverty. Material poverty, from which<br />spiritual poverty logically grows. That was always true; that will always be true. But that, disastrously, is the actual result of present policy: it is creating poverty instead of fighting it.<br /><br />The struggle against nationalism has long since degenerated into a confused campaign against any healthy patriotism, even against the most basic identity of human beings, against their understanding of themselves as peoples and nations. This Europe will not function. We cannot build your house without a foundation. The citizens are the foundation of Europe. Policy must respect the will of human beings instead of trying to implement its own vision, which is in reality only the vision of a small elite.<br /><br />Your European house is undemocratic! It must of necessity be undemocratic, for a policy that cannot gain a majority cannot be actualized democratically.<br /><br />I am a Spaniard, also a German. And I have for a long time also felt myself to be a European.<br /><br />As a Spaniard, I tell you, I want Spain to continue to exist! And we Spaniards want to be independent. We want to and are able to solve our own problems. Our pride alone demands it. Exaggerated solidarity will not help us along, but slow us down, paralyze us, make us dependent.<br /><br />And as a German, I tell you, I want Germany to continue to exist. Because the Germany of today is a superb, free and just country no one need be ashamed of. That is the great legacy from your generation which must be preserved.<br /><br />And as an avowed European, I tell you, our strength is our diversity. We Europeans want what you once promised: a Europe of peoples, not a population of Europeans. We want to cooperate where it makes sense, and remain independent where is makes more sense. We want a unity in diversity, not a unity in simplicity.<br /><br />There is no European people. Anyone who wishes to create this is working against the instincts and desires of the majority of the people on this continent — committing a crime. No one has the right to do away with historically matured peoples. Should not that too be a lesson from the Second World War?<br /><br />Contemporary policy does not ensure peace in Europe; it endangers it. The salvation of the euro has long since achieved a mass effect similar to that of the Treaty of Versailles at the time of the Weimar Republic. Enormous fortunes are being destroyed and re-distributed. The ordinary person’s buying power is sinking. The policies of today are laying the groundwork for the poverty of tomorrow and thus creating the prerequisites for the wars and conflicts of the day after tomorrow. That is the reality.<br /><br />We do not need more Europe or less Europe. We need a Europe that functions. And we need a Europe that is not just the vision of the elite but is the vision of the majority.<br /><br />That is not the case for today’s Europe. This Europe does not work. A substantial reason for that is the euro — this political straitjacket which was shredded long ago on contact with economic reality, and is kept alive only at the cost of future generations.<br /><br />A common currency is not necessary for peace and liberty. Europe — first and foremost the currency union — urgently needs to be reformed. Thoroughly. That is the only way to halt the destructive downward spiral. That is another sad truth, the actual result of contemporary policy: we, Germany, Europe, the entire proud West are in a historic decline. Frantically clinging to your vision of Europe is accelerating this decline. And the introduction of the transfer union is putting the final seal on it. How is a continent — a system — supposed to be successful when it rewards production with taxes and mismanagement with astronomic transfer payments?<br /><br />The crisis of recent years is not the work of speculators and bankers. It is more than anything the work of politicians. It is the result of the system. A system that creates completely false incentives can only produce equally false results, This crisis, Mr. Kohl, is endemic to the system. It is endemic to the euro. It is endemic to the EU.<br /><br />Your motives are noble. But they are not in tune with the times. Do you seriously believe that because of European currency reform the majority of Germans would suddenly favor blitzkrieg and attack their neighbors? This kind of argument is so far removed from reality and — with all due respect — ludicrous, that it seems incredible that broad elements of policy are elevating this mischief to supreme maxims of thought and action.<br /><br />Precisely that could soon form the greatest mistake of the younger generation: the fatally mistaken idea of compelling Europe to an eternal peace by doing away with its peoples. What then, Mr. Kohl, if this lays the groundwork for future conflicts?<br /><br />So I appeal to you and to the politicians of this country: Stop the black-and-white descriptions. Stop defaming as enemies of the European idea every person who is not prepared to approve of overt economic mistakes. Let us have a targeted, realistic and solution-oriented discussion of how we can together make our Europe better. “Better” in the sense of “more successful.” Our Europe, Mr. Kohl, has been peaceful for a long time. And the basis of that is not the euro, is not even European integration. It is democracy, prosperity, enlightenment and wisdom. That is what must be defended, instead of gambling on the daydream of a united Europe, the “United States of Europe.”<br /><br />And I appeal to you and the politicians of this country: Stop the idea of ruling people in the spirit of a long past time. Come join the present. Of course the conduct of policy must learn the lessons of the past. But it must also accept the problems of the “here and now.” And it must ultimately recognize that we cannot alter the past. The future, to be sure. Or, as Albert Einstein said: “The future interests me more than the past, because I expect to live there.”<br /><br />And I believe that I am speaking for many so-called “euro-critics” when I say: I too have the dream of a peaceful, free and united Europe. The question is not whether we want it, but how.<br /><br />Yours truly,<br /><br />Marco Pino</blockquote>Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-83393071596362565572012-03-09T00:42:00.002+01:002012-03-09T00:42:50.679+01:00Heartfelt and necessaryJohn Ward of <a href="http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/important-nothing-to-do-with-junk-bond-swapping/">The Slog</a> makes a plea we at KV heartily endorse and think eminently necessary:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2012/03/08/the-rise-of-the-new-super-elite/">As Ed West observes</a>, sociological commentator Charles Murray’s new book on US society audits how – among many other profoundly disturbing changes – since the 1960s America’s society has cracked into three parts, with a broad middle class separating a super-rich elite and a growing underclass.<br /><br />Big is winning. Material greed is winning. Goldman Sachs is winning. Venizelos is bribing. 11,000 Greeks are losing their pensions. Society is losing. Communities are losing. Families are losing.<br /><br />Civilisation is ending.<br /><br />Help this site and others like it turn that last prediction into a self-denying prophecy. <em>Do</em> something. </blockquote>As Mr. Ward observes, it is no good asking 'How?'. Take a look around, realize the situation you are in, and take measures that are in accordance with you and your beliefs and dreams. To your own self be true!<br /><br />But if you must have a little inspiration: In the comments to this particular item there are some good suggestions.<br />Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-22086791288938952502012-03-07T22:29:00.002+01:002012-03-07T22:29:36.678+01:00Rotten scoundrels and liarsSome news from the wire (in this case Reuters) that has been completely ignored and/or suppressed by the (slavish? sycophantic?) Dutch MSM: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/07/eurozone-dutch-esm-idUSWEA462520120307">Dutch FinMin willing to increase euro rescue fund ESM</a><blockquote>Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said on Wednesday the Netherlands was willing and ready to increase the euro zone rescue fund, or European Stability Mechanism, but that Germany was still against doing so.<br /><br />"Germany does not yet find it politically opportunistic," De Jager said in parliament.<br /><br />"If there is a possibility to increase the emergency fund we will do it very quickly. This is also supported by a majority in parliament," De Jager said.</blockquote>Which makes De Jager a rotten scoundrel and a liar. Because this is what he said in January:<blockquote>Finance minister De Jager said the Netherlands will not put extra money in the European emergency fund EFSF. (...) According to De Jager there are too few credit worthy countries to guarantee a AAA-status of the emergency fund. <b>The burden will fall mostly on the shoulders of the Netherlands and Germany, he said.</b></blockquote>But I guess it's always easy to throw around a few billions, when it isn't your money. What was it that Thatcher said of socialists: They always run out of other peoples money. Seeing as De Jager seems to be hell bent on running out of OUR hard-earned money, it would seem he fits Mrs. Thatchers definition quite nicely, thank you.<br /><br />Elsewhere, it seems that the government has started pre-emptively with the campaign against the referendum called for by Wilders last Monday. A 'poll' was <a href="http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Politiek/332745/Peiling-meeste-Nederlanders-hoeven-gulden-niet-terug.htm">published today</a>, which 'showed' that 61% of the Dutch would vote against a return to the guilder in a referendum. A full 54% of the Dutch supposedly don't want a referendum to begin with.<br /><br />I am hedging on the results because the outfit carrying out the poll (among 1200 voters) has a rep to protect where coming up with results the elites want to hear is concerned. Another rotten scoundrel and liar, hence. The comments under the Elsevier item are a blast to read. Virtually none of the commenter lends the results any credibility. But it gives our government (or rather, our local puppets acting on behalf of our supreme government in Brussels) the excuse it needs to ignore calls of a referendum. Isn't that just neat and handy?<br /><br />But that argument can be turned around. If the government has convinced itself the euro will prevail in a referendum, why not hold it and claim the democratic legitimacy? Come on, you cowards! Give us that referendum!Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-89424951083825402732012-03-07T00:19:00.002+01:002019-02-02T10:06:23.900+01:00Hidden hunger<a href="http://www.srfood.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2054-five-ways-to-tackle-disastrous-diets-un-food-expert">The UN is after your diet (and money)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/943/Consument/article/detail/1404848/2012/03/06/Belgische-VN-expert-roept-op-tot-junkfoodbelasting.dhtml">Het Laatste Nieuws</a> (NL).<blockquote>De Schutter quoted research that showed that a 10% tax on soda drinks<br /> reduced the turn-over by more then 10%. He proposes that the revenue of such taxes be used to subsidize healthy foods.</blockquote>That statement is just pregnant with implications.<br /><br />In short, what De Schutter proposes is a tax, whose revenue goes straight to the UN. Yes, the money is supposed to promote 'healthy food'. But it still is the UN taking taxes from food you buy. It is a stealthy form of direct taxation. Now, traditionally, taxation is a function of government. If then the UN is proposing takings taxes (more or less) directly from you, what do you think the UN sees itself as?<br /><br />There is a 'hidden hunger' alright. Just not the kind you were thinking of when you started reading this item.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-31372313607787961072012-03-05T19:54:00.003+01:002012-03-06T23:42:31.385+01:00EUR, what is it good for III am taking a short break from <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2012/02/prolonged-hiatus.html">taking a prolonged break</a> from blogging to bring you this bit of news. The report Business Insider estimates will <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2012/01/within-days.html">'blow up the eurozone'</a> was released today: <a href="http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/03/report_shows_the_netherlands_c.php">Report shows the Netherlands can leave the euro, says Wilders</a>.<blockquote>A report into the cost of the euro commissioned by Geert Wilders shows the Netherlands can return to the guilder, the PVV leader said at the presentation on Monday afternoon.<br /><br />'The results go against everything we are told in the media and by the left-wing elite on a daily basis,' Wilders said. 'The Netherlands can go back to the guilder.'<br /><br />The research states the shift to the euro has hit the Netherlands' prosperity. For example, the Dutch economy has grown by an average 1.25% [yearly] since the euro was introduced, compared with 3% [yearly] in the 20 preceding years.<br /><br />Yet over the past 10 years, the economies of Sweden and Switzerland, which are not members of the eurozone, have grown 2.25% and 1.75% respectively, the report states.<br /><br /><b>Leaving the euro now will cost up to €51bn, but that will be more than offset by a €75bn saving on propping up the single currency</b>, Wilders said. He wants a referendum on the issue.</blockquote>The report was done by <a href="http://www.lombardstreetresearch.com/">Lombard Street Research</a> (LSR). The full report (75 pages) is <a href="http://pvv.nl/images/stories/Netherlands_and_the_Euro_-_Full_Report_Final.pdf">here</a> (pdf), a 20 page summmary can be viewed <a href="http://pvv.nl/images/stories/Netherlands_and_the_Euro_-_summary_report_final.pdf">here</a> (pdf). Most of what the report says we've <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2011/08/eur-what-is-it-good-for.html">rehearsed earlier</a>. But this report is a first in that it takes a look at the actual numbers.<br /><br />Bottom line, as reported by to Fundweb: <a href="http://www.fundweb.co.uk/europe/eurozone-could-cost-%E2%82%AC24-trillion-to-keep-together-lsr-suggests/1047402.article">Eurozone could cost €2.4 trillion to keep together</a>.<blockquote>The research suggests that it will cost at least €1.3 trillion for the eurozone to be held together. This optimistic scenario assumes that the debt of Greece and Portugal are written off and healthier economies such as Germany, France, Benelux, Austria and Finland fund the budget deficits of Spain and Italy.<br /><br />But the group’s pessimistic scenario, which would cost €2.4 trillion, sees Spain and Italy also needing their bond maturities refinancing. This is expected to cost almost four times the amount of bailing out Greece and Portugal. (...)<br /><br />Dumas concludes: “The difficulties of the eurozone are dynamic and complex but we believe that our report, based on careful statistical analysis, points towards a growing likelihood that the eurozone cannot survive in its current form.”</blockquote>In the name of all that is good and decent in the world, CAN WE LEAVE NOW?<br /><br /><i>Right, back to picking my nose and playing Solitaire on the PC. Until later.</i><br /><br /><b>[UPDATE001]</b> Okay, one small update and then I'm really done: The <a href="http://www.dagelijksestandaard.nl/2012/03/one-size-fits-none">one-liner of the day is by Charles Dumas</a> (NL), head of LSR, during the presentation of the NL&Euro-report. Referring to the single currency for such diverse economies as exist in Europe he said: <blockquote>One size fits none.</blockquote>I dare anyone to come up with a more succinct expression stating the fundamentally flawed thinking that gave us the euro.<br /><br /><b>[UPDATE002]</b> A non-exhaustive list of reactions around the 'Net:<br /><br /><a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/03/dutch-eurodoom.html">Dutch eurodoom</a> - EURef<br /><a href="voxday.blogspot.com/2012/03/eurebellion-begins.html">The Eurebellion begins</a> - Vox Day<br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9124815/Dutch-Freedom-Party-pushes-euro-exit-as-2.4-trillion-rescue-bill-looms.html">Dutch Freedom Party pushes euro exit as €2.4 trillion rescue bill looms</a> - Ambrose Evans-Pritchard<br /><br />And the reactions from our so-called leaders and representative:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Politiek/332610/Rutte-Nog-niet-overtuigd-door-guldenonderzoek-PVV.htm?rss=true">Rutte not yet convinced by Wilders' guilder report</a> (NL).<blockquote>Rutte thinks that the guilder would have been 'speculated to destruction' during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. According to the prime minister the Netherlands would have come out of that crisis in much worse shape, he stated during Question Hour on Tuesday.</blockquote>Really? And how do you know this? Given that, as socialist... I mean: social-democrat thinking would have it, speculators only prey on the weak: How and why would anyone seek to destroy a strong, hard and safe currency? How does that even make sense?<br /><br />And of course, our intrepid Finmin also had his <strike>non-sequitur</strike> answer ready: <a href="http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Politiek/332530/De-Jager-niet-onder-de-indruk-van-guldenonderzoek-PVV.htm">De Jager not impressed by guilder report Wilders</a> (NL) <blockquote>According to the minister various studies show that the cost of breaking up the eurozone are much higher then the [LSR] estimates.</blockquote>Care to name three? I know of <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2010/05/beneficial-crisis-or-is-it.html#comment-50631009">this one</a>, or <a href="http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/amerman/2010/0419.html">this here</a>, or <a href="http://oilprice.com/Finance/Economy/Why-the-Euro-Is-Doomed.html">this one</a>, none of which seem to unequivocally support our intrepid Finmins assertion. So, dear Jan-Kees, where are these studies you refer to? Where are they published? Or are *gasp* just making it up as you go along? Nah, you would never do that, would you? You have <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2010/05/building-perfect-storm.html">been forthright</a> about this crisis all along, have you not?<br />Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-82557034422975662032012-02-27T22:08:00.002+01:002012-02-27T22:08:23.402+01:00Prolonged hiatusI am taking a break from blogging. Real Life (tm) is more demanding then ever, leaving me too little time and energy to come up with anything worthwhile. Besides, I seem to have run out of steam, out of things to say. <br /><br />This is not the end... yet. But after a six year run, it does look like I've reached the end of this particular journey.<br /><br />Thanks you all who've stopped by to read and comment. It has been fun and more then a little informative. Thank you all for the exchanges. <br /><br />Hopefully until later.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-60371055166657879622012-02-17T23:06:00.000+01:002012-02-17T23:06:50.814+01:00Final countdownVia <a href="http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/greek-default-exclusive-senior-us-bankers-given-explicit-timetable-for-athens-default/">The Slog</a> we learn of a document, circulating around two large American banks, which seems to be a time-table for the 'controlled default' and Greek exit from the euro.<br /><blockquote>The document asserts that Greece will officially be declared in default by all the ratings agencies after the close of business on Friday march 23rd . At the weekend all Greek bank accounts will be frozen, with emergency measures detailed to prevent the flight of capital. Included in the paperwork is a list of very limited exceptions to the ‘no withdrawals’ order. All major banks ‘are instructed not to deal with euro exchange as of open of business in Greece on Monday 25th march. All Greek markets will close for one day ‘at least’.</blockquote>Mark your calendars: March 23rd, after business hours. That's supposedly when the world (or at least the EUnion) will get even more interesting.<br /><br />The two banks in possession of the document are Barclays and <a href="http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/greek-default-plan-jp-morgan-also-possesses-it/">JP Morgan</a>. And if you're wondering why two US banks would have this document, but no mention is made of EUro banks with a similar time-table: Merkozy are *not* in control. This is the Obama administrations doing. Moreover, there seems to be a similar planned exit for Portugal.<br /><blockquote>Further enquiries have revealed allegations that first, “the White House played hardball in several meetings with top bank currency traders” to ensure that “the Greek thing didn’t get out of control and ruin Obama’s chances”; second, Portugal is described as being “in the frame” for a similar process; third, the documents are from the Federal Reserve not the Treasury; and lastly, both the IMF and senior members of the German Government are in the loop.<br /><br />It seems to me there are black arts at work here, and I’ve no desire to be suckered by them. Some of the media information out today since The Slog’s original piece is potentially conflicting, as indeed is some of the history surrounding this story. The biggest of these is the ‘split’ now alleged to exist between Merkel and Schauble about “what to do with” (lovely choice of phrase, that one) Greece. The story put out – and run by the London Financial Times this morning GMT – is that Schauble wants Athens to default, and Merkel doesn’t.<br /><br />I think the story is bollocks. Superficially it rings true, but in reality this is an obvious attempt to deflect the flak away from Merkel after yesterday’s outrage at Berlin’s suggestion of postponing elections in Greece.</blockquote>This is all not that far-fetched as the last days saw manouvres in the EUrozone that indicate Greeces time as a EUnion member is <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/02/buying-time.html">well and truly up</a>. It was inevitable two years ago, but now, at last, the political will to accept the inevitable has finally settled in, it seems. For better or for worse. But this does mean that a Greek exit from the euro, barring any black swan event, is now all but a dead certainty.<br /><br />Or, as EURef calls it: <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/02/fat-lady-clears-her-throat.html">The fat lady clears her throat</a>.<blockquote>The rhetoric has turned poisonous, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9087653/Just-as-Greece-complies-at-last-Europe-pulls-the-plug.html" target="_blank">says Ambrose</a> as he <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/02/buying-time.html" target="_blank">catches up with events</a>. He judges that Berlin, Helsinki and The Hague show every sign that they intend to eject Greece from the euro whatever it now does, calculating that the eurozone is at last strong enough to withstand contagion.<br /><br />Theoretically, we should be seeing a resolution on Monday, when the Eurogroup finally meets. But Dutch minister of Finance <a href="http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Economie/330833/De-Jager-nog-niet-akkoord-met-lening-aan-Griekenland.htm" target="_blank">Jan Kees de Jager</a> (NL) is indicating that the Netherlands will block the bailout.<br /><br />From that source, we learn that, even if everything goes well, Monday will only deliver a "preliminary agreement", creating a parliamentary reservation for the Netherlands, Germany and Finland.</blockquote>Behind the scenes there is a lot more going on then this (already longish) post is able to convey. Check out a few of the links given above to get a flavour of the rather sudden quickening of pace events have taken this week.<br /><br />And what is the role of (unelected) Italian PM Mario Monti in all this. Both <a href="http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/revealed-the-athens-budget-black-hole-that-never-was/">the Slog</a> and <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/02/full-monti.html">EURef</a> shine there considerable light on this impeccable but rather shady former Goldman-Sachs boyo. Allegedly, he's the one that persuaded Merkel the Greek bail-out money could be put to better use (like, eehm... Italy).<br /><br />Much is going on. Where will it all lead?<br />Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-87230953939333077842012-02-15T22:05:00.000+01:002012-02-15T22:09:45.584+01:00Good riddanceSome <a href="http://www.commonpurpose.org/find-us/netherlands">cheery news</a>, via <a href="http://parker-joseph.com/pjcjournal/2012/02/14/a-quick-view-common-purpose/">IanPJ</a>: <br /><blockquote>It is with great sadness I report that Common Purpose in the Netherlands has closed down. In the current climate in the Netherlands, the open courses have struggled to cover costs. The Netherlands team have worked very hard over the years for Common Purpose and we are all very grateful for their work.</blockquote>For those that don't know <a href="http://www.stopcp.com/">Common Purpose</a>, we did a small write up about this sinister outfit <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2008/08/common-purpose.html">four years ago</a>.<br /><blockquote>The <a href="http://www.commonpurpose.nl/default.asp?page=sprekers%20en%20werkbezoeken">list of regular speakers</a> on the site of the Dutch chapter of CP reads like a who-is-who of the Dutch multicultural elite. The 'founding father' of the Dutch chapter is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_Mak">Geert Mak</a>, for crying outloud.<br /><br />The course they offer seem to be about power politics only: How to identify and manipulate the 'levers of power' and how to maintain and upgrade your 'network' (that barren and strictly utilitarian surrogate for real friendships and inter-human relations).<br /><br />I do not like conspiracy theories that much. They often ascribe a level of insidiousness to members of a conspiracy far beyond the capabilities of mere mortals. However, setting aside the (unproven) agenda of delivering us into the hands of communism after all, the concept of a closed, self-selecting (you don't get to join unless invited by the board of Common Purpose) and self-maintaining elite does not spell a lot of good news for a healthy, democratic, public life.</blockquote>Needless to say: That CP saw itself forced to close shop in NL can only be good news for the health of political life in our swampy corner of the world. Good riddance to bad rubbish!Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-62878348791313356192012-02-11T19:44:00.000+01:002019-02-02T10:06:23.706+01:00How it should be doneThere is now scientific proof that direct democracy does work! Flagged up by <a href="http://witteringwitney.blogspot.com/2012/02/direct-democracy-safeguard-to-limit.html">WfW</a> and <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/02/referism-works.html">EURef</a> we learn of a website called Vox ('Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists'), where we find this article: <a href="http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/7608">Direct democracy as a safeguard to limit public spending</a>.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-10148068858361204892012-02-10T11:13:00.001+01:002012-02-10T11:14:49.083+01:00Lords of the EUSSR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="460" width="482" src="http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/kleinverzet/cartoons/3e61c09a.jpg" /></a></div><br />Without further comment. (<a href="http://www.vrijspreker.nl/wp/2012/02/even-wat-hoognodige-duiding-the-lords-of-the-eussr/">via</a>)<br /><br />Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-33704541949677555072012-02-10T00:18:00.001+01:002012-02-10T00:19:39.448+01:00Islamophobia or Islamonausea?A week ago, some petty little cretin from a petty little cretinous party (Islam Democrats, an oxymoron if there ever was one) tried to sneak a little bit of sharia-law into The Hague city regulations: <a href="http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2012/01/hague-muslim-party-wants-dog-ban.html">Muslim party wants dog ban</a>.<blockquote>Hasan Küçük, Hague councilor for the Islam Democrats, says dogs should be banned as pets in the city, reports De Telegraaf. The Muslim party says that the animals belong in nature, not inside the house. Küçük says that keeping dogs is animal abuse and should therefore be criminalized.</blockquote>Points for playing on the animal-welfare angle, an issue known to be dear to us 'aboriginals'. But really... Could you be any more pathetically transparent? <br /><br />Yes, we know the founder of your 'faith' had issues with pets. We don't. Is it really that much to ask to leave us be with the family pooch?<br /><br />Pointing out the obvious source of this 'suggestion' will in some quarters of Dutch society raise voice in objection to this evident symptom of islamophobia. But 'phobia' doesn't actually describe the feeling washing over one when reading this tiresome item.<br /><br />A better description would be 'nausea', as in <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/01/islamonausea-not-islamophobia.html">Islamonausea</a> (in Dutch: <i>islamisselijk</i>).<blockquote>The nausea reflex is innate, and it is biologically natural and healthy to experience emotional and bodily discomfort with anything that is unpleasant, unhealthy or harmful.<br /><br />There is nothing phobic or racist in feeling nausea when hearing about the Islamic massacres performed by Muhammad and his many devout copycats through history and all over the world today. The same goes for Muhammad's sexual relationship with a nine-year old girl, and the cutting off of limbs and stonings in the name of Allah and his Sharia laws.<br /><br />Thinking of Muslims’ epidemic practice of forced inbreeding (which damages intelligence and increases the risk of psychiatric diseases) -- often many generations in a row -- one may also experience unpleasant feelings in the abdomen. There is also no shame in feeling nausea when hearing about the extreme social control, violence and murderous examples made to keep and scare hundreds of millions of their women from enjoying their human rights to chose their own sexual partners, clothing and lifestyle.<br /><br />The many calls for hatred, violence and killing of non-Muslims commanded by the faultless Koran are outright disgusting. Imagining the pinnacle of evolution being a planet-sized Islamic caliphate is not only a complete embarrassment to the human race; it may also make one lose one's appetite.</blockquote>And that's where we are, over a decade after 9/11. We're not afraid of islam, irrational or otherwise. We're just plain sick of it.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-2778337298148044032012-02-07T23:16:00.000+01:002012-02-07T23:16:23.702+01:00Repost... from <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/02/power.html">EURef</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPecNP-W0tA/TzGXsORN8pI/AAAAAAAAVO0/q7aTEnKBbk4/s1600/power.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="442" width="512" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPecNP-W0tA/TzGXsORN8pI/AAAAAAAAVO0/q7aTEnKBbk4/s1600/power.jpg" /></a></div></div><br />Too good to not pass on.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-15181553494814704292012-02-07T21:43:00.000+01:002012-02-07T21:16:25.103+01:00HiatusAm away for work. Regular programming will resume in the weekend.<br /><br /><b>[UPDATE001]</b> Well. That didn't turn out quite as expected. On Friday, when I was supposed to head home, Anthropogenic Global Warming struck again, dumping goodly layers of GW on my destination as well as my transfer stop. After an array of cancelled flights, rescheduled flights, delayed flights and assorted Italian hotels I finally arrived late in the weekend.<br /><br />But I didn't come alone. A bug chose me as his fellow traveller. And now I am sitting here bleary eyed, clogged up with what I must assume is poured concrete and a head-ache that is eerily reminiscent of the great smithies of yonder-year, what with all the banging and glowing throbs.<br /><br />Posting will be lighter then usual for a couple of days more, I'm afraid. My apologies.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-1780550142086203762012-02-07T10:55:00.001+01:002012-02-07T16:02:44.765+01:00A scary thoughtMary-Ellen Synon in her latest: <a href="http://synonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/02/merkel-forgets-germanys-history-austerity-not-inflation-gave-us-hitler.html">Merkel forgets Germany's history: 'Austerity not inflation gave us Hitler'</a><blockquote>Murray recommends that readers should study the record of Heinrich Bruning, predecessor of Adolf Hitler as German chancellor. They could discover 'the real reason for Germany's descent into Nazism.'<br /><br />'Monetarist fetishists have helped to circulate a pernicious falsehood that the Weimar über-inflation caused the rise of Hitler.'<br /><br />'The wild inflation storm occured in 1924. The Weimar economy recovered from it.'<br /><br />'The Nazis came to power only in 1933, as an immediate consequence of the deflationary spiral that resulted from what Mr Wolf [commentator Martin Wolf, in an earlier article] refers to aptly as the "catastrophic austerity" introduced by Bruning.'</blockquote>As Mrs. Synon notes, Greece is now suffering from policies of similarly "catastrophic austerity".<br /><br />And then a thought occurs to Mrs. Synon: The three top people now forcing this catastrophic austerity on the eurozone are Angela Merkel from Germany, with its history of national socialism, ECB president Mario Draghi from Italy, with its history of fascism, and IMF chief Christine Lagarde from France, with its history of collaboration with Nazism.<blockquote>But, God help us, they've all forgotten their own history.</blockquote>That is one scary thought.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-84461916482758617352012-02-01T00:57:00.000+01:002012-02-01T00:57:11.229+01:00And the Lord chuckledVia <a href="http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2012/01/lord-chuckled.html">EURef</a> we get the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577194913075689288.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_blank">WSJ</a> getting bored with it all, and is just taking the mick:<blockquote>And Angela Merkel said, "Let there be jobs and growth." And lo, there were jobs and there was growth. And Angela Merkel said, "Let there be closer fiscal coordination on a non-Treaty, intergovernmental basis with penalties for sinners to be administered by the European Court of Justice." And lo, there was that, too. And Angela Merkel said, "Let Greece prove itself capable of meaningful structural reforms before we give them another, €130 billion bailout".<br /><br />And the Lord chuckled.</blockquote>This may or may not have something to do with the latest news: <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/4-BiKTuoSzg/greece-calls-crisis-meeting-debt-talks-stall">Greece Calls Crisis Meeting As Debt Talks Stall</a>.<br /><br />In relation to my <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KleinVerzet/~3/c-I62IBoBDU/im-curious.html">outburst earlier</a>, it is good to remember that for all the panic-stricken flailing of easily frightened 'men', in the end Our Father just shrugs and chuckles and, when the time comes, will set His will in motion. Maybe I *did* get worked up over nothing.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-44293025503881013612012-01-31T20:13:00.002+01:002012-01-31T23:49:37.643+01:00I'm curiousSo, yesterday out intrepid PM Mark Rutte <a href="http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/01/jobs_and_growth_are_the_answer.php">put his signature</a> under the new 'Fiscal Treaty' (not a EUnion treaty!). One that, in his words, will ensure that 'Europe' will <blockquote>become more competitive and create more jobs in order to ensure its future prosperity, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said after Monday night's informal EU summit on the eurozone debt crisis. (...)<br /><br />The treaty, largely agreed last December, gives a greater role to the European Commission in making sure national budgets meet the rules and allows the European Court of Justice to monitor compliance.<br /><br />Rutte also said the EU must continue to expand its presence in foreign markets. This is particularly important for country like the Netherlands whose economy is based on exports, he said.</blockquote>That's all sunshine and daisies then. Except that the UK and, surprisingly, the Czech Republic opted out.<br /><br />And <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/30/eu-summit-eurozone-treaty-deal">here's why</a>:<blockquote>At German insistence, the treaty for the first time empowers the European Court of Justice as the enforcer of fiscal rectitude in the eurozone, makes it possible to levy quasi-automatic fines against countries in persistent breach of the new rules, and obliges all eurozone countries to introduce binding legislation or constitutional amendments abolishing governments' rights to run up excessive levels of national debt.<br /><br />"The debt brakes will be binding and <b>valid forever</b>," said Merkel.<br /><br />"<b>Never will you be able to change them through a parliamentary majority</b>."</blockquote>Our PM, the right-wing head of the most right-wing cabinet in years, has agreed to (1) allow foreigners to set the budget target, a right that is supposed to be reserved for parliament. And (2) it enshrines this right in Dutch law FOR PERPETUITY. No future Dutch government, or future parliament will have the legal means to deviate from the 'budget brake', even if it thinks it warranted.<br /><br />And how, dear Mr. Rutte is that not giving away yet more sovereignty to the UNELECTED and UNACCOUNTABLE cabal that makes up the EUnion ruling class? How is that NOT sabotaging the democracy we're supposed to have in the Netherlands?<br /><br />And final question: How do you feel, Mr. Rutte, what do you see, when you look into the mirror during your morning shave? No really, I'm curious. Because it certainly can't be a man you see. What a disgrace you and your cabinet turned out to be. What a bloody shame!<br /><br />(<a href="http://timworstall.com/2012/01/31/err-no-13/">h/t</a>)<br /><br /><b>[UPDATE001]</b> In the comments <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2012/01/im-curious.html#comment-425659559">Witterings from Witney</a> draws the parallel between our PM and 'cast-iron' Cameron. Even without knowing much about Dutch politics. It is an apt parallel. One I referred to in the <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2006/05/dutch-politics-and-what-they-dont-tell.html">grey, far-away past</a> of this modest blog. Both Cameron and Rutte are politicians of the europlastic variety, playing one tune to the home audience, while whistling Beethovens Ninth to the 'colleagues'. So perhaps I shouldn't get worked up about this. It is to be expected from the likes of Rutte. But I can't help it. There were promises made, oaths taken. And they were callously broken as soon as the opportunity presented itself. And it is a sign of the despicably rotten state of our so-called democracy, that the majority of the Dutch just shrug it off as just another case of everyday politics. IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY!Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-30005935869809502992012-01-30T23:15:00.000+01:002012-01-30T21:51:59.965+01:00Fjordman File updates: After Fjordman<b>[30 - 1]</b> On Gates of Vienna: <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-mass-murderer-anders-behring-breivik_28.html">Is the Mass Murderer Anders Behring Breivik Insane? Part 2 - Narcissism, Paranoia, and an Elaborate Fantasy World</a>.<blockquote>In brief: Those parts of his so-called manifesto that appear to be logically coherent and present factually-based views and analysis of wider political issues were not authored by Breivik. Those sections that were most clearly written by Breivik himself appear incoherent and are entirely about him, his family and their alleged shortcomings, and his own incredible status in a strange universe that makes sense only inside his twisted mind.</blockquote><b>[18 - 1]</b> On Gates of Vienna: <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-mass-murderer-anders-behring-breivik.html">Is the Mass Murderer Anders Behring Breivik Insane? Part 1 - The Nordic Mohammed</a>.<blockquote>[O]ne could say that Islam is a creed stating that those who urinate like Mohammed should wage war against the rest of mankind until they, too, urinate like Mohammed.<br /><br />Theologically speaking, what I write here is exaggerated, but not incorrect. Muslims are expected to emulate all aspects of Mohammed’s personal example or Sunna, including bathroom etiquette, and spread these manners to the rest of planet by any means necessary.<br /><br />Based on these examples, one could be tempted to conclude that Anders Behring Breivik, with his extreme narcissism and desire for others to emulate his perfect personal example, represents a Nordic Mohammed.</blockquote><b>[15 - 1]</b> On Tundra Tabloids: <a href="http://tundratabloids.com/2012/01/fjordman-interview-in-german-paper-junge-freiheit-europe-is-the-sick-man-of-the-world.html">Fjordman interview: Europe is the sick man of the world</a>.<blockquote>While Muslims and other outsiders are now infiltrating Western societies, it is unlikely whether they would have been able to do so without exploiting the internal decay and decline of the West itself. I sometimes fear that we are stuck in a form of ideological civil war within the Western world between Westerners and post-Westerners, between those who still hold emotional and practical loyalty to traditional European cultures and nations and those who want to dismantle European nations through promoting open borders and mass immigration.</blockquote><b>[ 1 - 1]</b> On Europe News: <a href="http://europenews.dk/en/node/50739">Medieval Law - Germanic and Islamic Practices</a>.<blockquote>When it comes to practices such as forced marriages and honor killings, it is hard to escape the conclusion that we are ultimately dealing with fundamental differences in civilizational level. Some repressive cultural practices and mentalities encountered in Western immigrant ghettos today were unthinkable in Europe even a thousand years ago.</blockquote><br />More Fjordman Files <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/p/fjordman-files.html">here</a>.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-25477666992903617142012-01-30T00:27:00.000+01:002012-01-30T00:28:58.050+01:00The end of a tale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/kleinverzet/9de81a54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="286" width="468" src="http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/kleinverzet/9de81a54.jpg" /></a></div><br />Via reader <a href="http://kleinverzet.blogspot.com/2012/01/coup-d-etat.html#comment-423810810">DP111</a> we get this news from the Daily Mail: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2093264/Forget-global-warming--Cycle-25-need-worry-NASA-scientists-right-Thames-freezing-again.html">Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about (and if NASA scientists are right the Thames will be freezing over again)</a>.<blockquote>The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet <b>has not warmed for the past 15 years</b>.<br /><br />The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.<br /><br />Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.</blockquote>See also the helpful chart reproduced above. Can we now, finally, call an end to the fairy tale that is (was) anthropogenic global warming?Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-74668533809515395672012-01-29T23:04:00.001+01:002012-01-29T23:04:39.330+01:00Within daysMust read from Business Insider: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-report-that-will-blow-up-the-eurozone-2012-1">The Report That Will Blow Up The Eurozone</a><blockquote>A few months ago, the PVV announced they had commissioned a report from British financial consultancy firm Lombard Street Research on the economic consequences of staying in the Eurozone versus returning to the guilder.<br /><br />That report is about to be published "within days". It will prove to be highly explosive material. And the PVV will do all it possibly can to make sure it receives a lot of media attention. It may tear down the incumbent government, which is a heavy advocate of all things Europe, and which will have to quit once the PVV support dies, but for that party that's not the no. 1 concern.<br /><br />And if and when Holland has a large scale discussion on the report and the issues it raises, Germany won't be able to ignore it and stay behind. And then, neither will France.</blockquote>BI estimate that once the report is published governments in Berlin and The Hague will have a lot of explaining to do. They have to do so against a backdrop of (near-)failing Greek debt swap talks, which will at the very least force them to admit that they have a lost tens of billions in taxpayer money to Club Med countries already. With a second Portugal bailout waiting in the wings. And lots of negative news on Italy and Spain. And more domestic budget cuts. The report will be the moment when the Dutch (and the Germans) realize that our governments have painted far too rosy pictures about the issues so far.<br /><br />The combination of economic reality in the eurozone is already causing a seething hatred and anger. The fact that a reputable economic research firm will flatly contradict the dire predictions by our government about the effects of leaving the euro will "serve as the catalyst that blows up the powder keg. It may take a few months, but it will happen".<br /><br />Here's hoping...Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22858737.post-87114479839589006592012-01-28T11:14:00.001+01:002012-01-30T00:05:32.244+01:00Coup d' EtatSo, the mask if finally dropping: <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/silent-anschluss-germany-formally-requests-greece-hand-over-its-fiscal-independence">Germany Formally Requests That Greece Hand Over Its Fiscal Independence</a><blockquote>It was tried previously (several times) under "slightly different" circumstances, and failed. Yet when it comes to taking over a country without spilling even one drop of blood, and converting its citizens into debt slaves, Germany's Merkel may have just succeeded where so many of her predecessors failed. <br /><br />According to a Reuters exclusive, "Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions [ZH: read ze Germans] as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday." Reuters add: "There are internal discussions within the Euro group and proposals, one of which comes from Germany, on how to constructively treat country aid programs that are continuously off track, whether this can simply be ignored or whether we say that's enough," the source said.' <br /><br />So while the great distraction that is the Charles Dallara "negotiation" with Hedge Funds continues (as its outcome is irrelevant: a Greece default is assured at this point), the real development once again was behind the scenes where Germany was cleanly and clinically taking over Greece. Because while today it is the fiscal apparatus, tomorrow it is the legislative. <br /><br />As for the executive: who cares. At that point Goldman will merely appoint one of its retired partners as Greek president and Greece will become the first 21st century German, pardon, European colony. But at least it will have its precious euro.</blockquote>This seems to be for real. <i>Die Welt</i> is reporting it: <a href="http://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article13838390/Griechenland-soll-Kontrolle-ueber-Haushalt-verlieren.html">Griechenland soll Kontrolle über Haushalt verlieren</a>.<br /><br />The text of the proposal is downright scary: ‘Budget consolidation has to be put under a strict steering and control system. Given the disappointing compliance so far, Greece <b>has to accept shifting budgetary sovereignty to the European level</b> for a certain period of time.’ <br /><br />For Greek citizens this will spell out renewed and further hardship, as the Troika demands that Greece pass a law ‘committing all State income first and foremost to debt servicing and reduction’. Forget about paying salaries and pensions. The banks will have their money, before the Greek people can eat and warm their houses.<br /><br />The Slog <a href="http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/6-00am-greeks-stunned-as-troika-takes-power/">calls it</a> as he sees it: This is, basically, the takeover of a sovereign EU member State in order to calm markets and protect exposed banks in the eurozone and elsewhere. What legal power does the EU have to enforce this? Is this even legal? <br /><br />Even if it is, this is absolutely disgraceful, beyond redemption. This has to be the proof that the EUnion is as malignant as many of us were fearing for years. The question is now: What will the Greek do? What will the government's reaction be? And how will the people respond?<br /><br /><b>[UPDATE001]</b> The Greek reaction is in. Via Keep Talking Greece: <a href="http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2012/01/28/strong-reactions-greece-rejects-budget-control-cede-to-eu/">Strong Reactions: Greece Rejects “Budget Control Cede to EU”</a><blockquote>Athens categorically rejected the German proposal to cede control over its budget to the European Union as a precognition for the second bailout, the rescue package for Greece. “We can never accept this. A similar proposal was made in the past by <b>a Dutch minister</b>. We do not even discuss about it” senior governmental sources told Athens News Agency.</blockquote>Really? Our own Jan-Kees de Jager has asked Greece to give the EUnion the keys to the house? What an utter cretin he turns out to be, when we aren't looking.<br /><br /><b>[UPDATE002]</b> More at <a href="http://paper.li/kleinverzet/1313948832/2012/01/28">Underdog News</a>.Kleinverzetnoreply@blogger.com5