Pagan Holidays
Pagan holidays that God hates aren't "for the children!" How can they be? When you go through the terrible HOLOCAUST that's coming (because of our idolatry and immorality), you'll understand we've SACRIFICED OUR CHILDREN in its flames!
If we're going to be saved out of "Jacob's trouble," we've got to think like God does and see things His way (Isa. 59:7-9). Mankind had better stop arguing with God! It's going to get us deported and killed! We need to hate the lies of Easter, Sunday, Christmas, and all the other religious bull we've heard and fallen for! We need to stay out of those corner bars (with crosses and steeples) that put us in a Biblical blackout! That hard liquor makes us forget what God says we're supposed to do, or gets us to the numb point where we don't even care!
- Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall - Chapter 7 - "Elijah's Key Role"
Jeremiah 10 condemns Christmas trees!
Christmas is adultery!
Christian Reprobates?
A Nation of Drunks and Whores
Apostate Christians
Is the Plain Truth Too Strong?
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
Christmas is About Giving -- Says Who?
C.H. Spurgeon on Christmas and Roman Catholicism
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
The Plain Truth about Christmas
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sarah Palin on president usurper Obama
Palin: OK to press Obama's eligibility
Voters 'rightfully' making doubt about birth certificate an issue
--WND
Voters 'rightfully' making doubt about birth certificate an issue
--WND
Religious liars spew "the law is done away!"
The damnable religious lie that the "law is done away" is an accursed replacement theology to substitute pagan holidays and SUNday for the holy Sabbath and biblical festivals (1 John 2:4). Such Gentilized Christians misled by Romanizers, know the Law and the Prophets condemn such baptized paganism, such whitewashed slop, such Babylonian muck.
If there were no law, then there is no sin, for "sin is the transgression of the law!" (1 John 3:4). Satan's rebellious children deny the need of a Savior from sin (Titus 1:16). They fail to confess and forsake their sins, to receive the pardon and the power to overcome in Christ daily, but prove how they're enslaved to idolatrous traditions by blathering they're "free" to break the holy commandments! (Jeremiah 7:7-11).
The treacherous religious lie that the "law is done away" is spewed by dishonest and deceitful "Christians" who remain unrepentant in their sins and will die in them if they continue to fail to FORSAKE BABYLON. Those who are truly Christian, hear and heed Christ's command to come out of such religious confusion! The rest stay put, proud and stubborn, and will suffer the consequences for it, as they've been warned.
Christian Reprobates?
A Nation of Drunks and Whores
Apostate Christians
Is the Plain Truth Too Strong?
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
If there were no law, then there is no sin, for "sin is the transgression of the law!" (1 John 3:4). Satan's rebellious children deny the need of a Savior from sin (Titus 1:16). They fail to confess and forsake their sins, to receive the pardon and the power to overcome in Christ daily, but prove how they're enslaved to idolatrous traditions by blathering they're "free" to break the holy commandments! (Jeremiah 7:7-11).
The treacherous religious lie that the "law is done away" is spewed by dishonest and deceitful "Christians" who remain unrepentant in their sins and will die in them if they continue to fail to FORSAKE BABYLON. Those who are truly Christian, hear and heed Christ's command to come out of such religious confusion! The rest stay put, proud and stubborn, and will suffer the consequences for it, as they've been warned.
Christian Reprobates?
A Nation of Drunks and Whores
Apostate Christians
Is the Plain Truth Too Strong?
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Germany makes Sunday official
Court enforces day of rest, bans Sunday shopping
The Babylonian Mystery religion of Roman Catholicism again seeks to enforce the Mark of the Beast, SUNday worship, starting in Germany, naturally, since they've historically collaborated with Germany to forge the unholy Roman Empire of the German Nation and intend on perverting the European Union into its final revival. Herbert W. Armstrong was right about Germany's Fourth Reich and the RCC!
Croatia bows before Rome every Sunday
The Babylonian Mystery religion of Roman Catholicism again seeks to enforce the Mark of the Beast, SUNday worship, starting in Germany, naturally, since they've historically collaborated with Germany to forge the unholy Roman Empire of the German Nation and intend on perverting the European Union into its final revival. Herbert W. Armstrong was right about Germany's Fourth Reich and the RCC!
Croatia bows before Rome every Sunday
Exposing the Cult of Roman Catholicism
Re: Needed: a "Build the Land of Israel Fund"
To: WarrenTear (#28)
Christian Europe
Whenever those steeped in the Babylonian Mystery religion of Roman Catholicism blather about "Christian Europe," they're talking about CATHOLIC Europe. As both the Bible and history testify, the Roman Catholic Cult is anathema to true Christianity, biblical Christianity. The bloody RCC works to destroy the light of true Christianity, the Sabbath-keeping Church of God, for exposing their darkness with the plain truth of the holy Scriptures, especially whenever Roman Catholic puppets are in power. The European stage is set, as prophesied, as Herbert W. Armstrong warned, for the final revival of the unholy Roman Empire whose days are numbered.
Pope seeks privileged status for the RCC in Europe
The Lisbon Treaty forges an empire, an emperor and an anvil
for war!
The Rape of Europe: "No Means No!"
To: WarrenTear (#28)
Christian Europe
Whenever those steeped in the Babylonian Mystery religion of Roman Catholicism blather about "Christian Europe," they're talking about CATHOLIC Europe. As both the Bible and history testify, the Roman Catholic Cult is anathema to true Christianity, biblical Christianity. The bloody RCC works to destroy the light of true Christianity, the Sabbath-keeping Church of God, for exposing their darkness with the plain truth of the holy Scriptures, especially whenever Roman Catholic puppets are in power. The European stage is set, as prophesied, as Herbert W. Armstrong warned, for the final revival of the unholy Roman Empire whose days are numbered.
Pope seeks privileged status for the RCC in Europe
The Lisbon Treaty forges an empire, an emperor and an anvil
for war!
The Rape of Europe: "No Means No!"
Israel and the White Race
From The Brit Am Movement of the Lost Ten Tribes:
Israel and the White Race
A Refutation of Black Liberation Theology
Contents:
Black Liberation Theology
What is Brit-Am, the Movement of the Lost Ten Tribes?
Noah, Ham and Canaan
DNA and the Black Race
The Egyptian Wife of Joseph
Were the Early Inhabitants of the Earth Black or White?
Canaan was a descendant of Ham.
Racial Prejudice and Miscegenation
The Black Afro-Americans in Prophesy
Is Obama Legitimate?
Israel and the White Race
A Refutation of Black Liberation Theology
Contents:
Black Liberation Theology
What is Brit-Am, the Movement of the Lost Ten Tribes?
Noah, Ham and Canaan
DNA and the Black Race
The Egyptian Wife of Joseph
Were the Early Inhabitants of the Earth Black or White?
Canaan was a descendant of Ham.
Racial Prejudice and Miscegenation
The Black Afro-Americans in Prophesy
Is Obama Legitimate?
Barry Chamish is Right!
http://jewsribsinbearjaw.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/jewish-sabbateans-rule-the-world-for-satan/
If you support Barry Chamish why were you directing people to an anti-Chamish website?
The comment by “david ben ariel” pretending to be me and speaking against Barry Chamish shows how low the losers can go (and how desperate they are) who can’t refute what Barry Chamish says, as my many articles with references to Barry Chamish and his revealing articles proves. They fear the light Barry Chamish brings, disturbing their darkness, whether it’s insanely jealous folks like Steven Plaut or other treacherous juveniles in the pay of their Bolshevik masters.
Avishai Raviv, Eyal, and Yitzhak Rabin
Shimon Peres Came to Power Over Rabin’s Dead Body
Vatican Linked to the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Re: Steven Plaut’s hateful rant against David Ben-Ariel
If you support Barry Chamish why were you directing people to an anti-Chamish website?
The comment by “david ben ariel” pretending to be me and speaking against Barry Chamish shows how low the losers can go (and how desperate they are) who can’t refute what Barry Chamish says, as my many articles with references to Barry Chamish and his revealing articles proves. They fear the light Barry Chamish brings, disturbing their darkness, whether it’s insanely jealous folks like Steven Plaut or other treacherous juveniles in the pay of their Bolshevik masters.
Avishai Raviv, Eyal, and Yitzhak Rabin
Shimon Peres Came to Power Over Rabin’s Dead Body
Vatican Linked to the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Re: Steven Plaut’s hateful rant against David Ben-Ariel
Friday, December 4, 2009
50,000 abortions in Israel annually
50,000 abortions in Israel annually
Efrat: 25,000 Jewish children saved in 30 years
Abortion: Blood of Innocents
Efrat: 25,000 Jewish children saved in 30 years
Abortion: Blood of Innocents
Open Europe press summary: 4 December 2009
Europe
Brown calls off Sarkozy visit;
Evans-Pritchard: EU's three new finance authorities should be focus of the City's concern
The FT reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy abandoned plans to visit Gordon Brown today to try to calm fears that the City of London will be subject to a French-inspired drive for tighter financial regulation, after the appointment of Michel Barnier to the role of EU Internal Market Commissioner including financial services. The article notes that "Downing Street convinced the Elysée palace that a visit by the French president in the midst of a political backlash could be counter-productive." A headline in Le Monde reads: "Did Sarkozy cancel his trip to London at the request of the British?" The Times notes that Whitehall sources insisted that it had been officials in London, not Paris, who cancelled the visit, and the Mail reports that Brown refused to fit a meeting in with him.
In an interview with La Tribune, Michel Barnier says: "I want everyone to find a bit of calm and serenity. What I read in certain British newspapers doesn't make sense. Nobody needs to explain to me the importance of the City. I share the view of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling: a strong City is in the interests of the whole of Europe." Asked if he will go to London, he says: "I will go to London, of course, if possible before the end of the year. Just as I will go to Madrid, Berlin and the other European capitals. But on Franco-British relations we must not get it wrong. One day I heard the President of the Republic [Sarkozy] expressing in the Council of Ministers his desire to work with London whatever the differences or the problems. He has a good relationship with Gordon Brown and I know that will continue."
The FT quotes French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde insisting that the French "respect and value" the City, but adding: "We need a City that plays by different rules." French Budget Minister Eric Woerth is quoted by the Telegraph saying, "How many Englishmen have there been whose policies didn't suit France? France never said anything...We're not going to apologise (for taking the post)."
Referring to this week's agreement between EU finance ministers to create three new EU authorities with binding powers over national regulators to supervise financial markets, the Telegraph's Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes "the real threat to the City does not come from the Commission. It comes from the three new agencies created to oversee banking (London), insurance and pensions (Frankfurt), and securities (Paris)."
He adds, "These bodies have the power to impose rules on Britain by majority vote. Each of the EU's 27 states has one vote: Malta counts as much as Britain in deciding the fate of the UK's biggest industry. We have no veto. The UK can invoke a safeguard clause if measures infringe 'fiscal sovereignty'. Yet it takes a vote by EU finance ministers to trigger the procedure."
Evans-Pritchard concludes, "Most thinking is informed by street populism, and a desire to believe that the Rhenish model has been vindicated. That is the view that Britain will face in the voting chamber of les trois agences."
The Independent questions Alistair Darling's claim that he has secured "safeguards" concerning the UK's "fiscal responsibility" for European banking rescues. The paper reports that although the text of the agreement states that the new overarching European supervisory authority "shall ensure that no decision... impinges in any way on the fiscal responsibilities of member states", it offers only limited resistance in cases where a national government and European regulators clash. The article notes that "Article 23 of the document leaves open the possibility that a majority of EU finance ministers and the EU regulator could force the UK taxpayer to foot the bill for the bailout of a European institution."
In the House of Commons last night, Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said that the "real loser" from yesterday's meeting of European finance ministers was the Chancellor and the British taxpayer, according to PA.
A leader in the FT argues "The City is rightly alarmed by the approach to finance taken in some EU corridors: the current draft directive on private equity and hedge funds is nonsensical. But not everything that comes out of Brussels is a French plot."
Meanwhile, writing in the Guardian, Fraser Nelson argues that the Conservatives won't "make too much of a fuss defending the City of London from the threat of EU regulation...lest they are accused of being in league with their banker friends."
Le Monde Times EUobserver FT: Peel FT FT: Leader AFP WSJ Guardian City AM Telegraph Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard Telegraph: Hannan blog City AM 2 Independent WSJ 2 Guardian: Nelson Open Europe briefing AFP El País ABC La Tribune Le Monde Le Monde 2 Mail
EU gives €34.5 million to help subsidise over-fishing of bluefin tuna
The Times reports that, in answer to a European parliamentary question from a Spanish MEP, the EU's Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg has revealed that, between 2000 and 2008, the EU has given a total of €34.5 million to subsidise Mediterranean tuna fishing fleets, despite warnings from scientists that overfishing is pushing the species close to extinction. Spain received more than half of the subsidy, with French and Italian fleets the next biggest beneficiaries. Cyprus, Malta and Greece were also given money.
The article quotes the Green MEP, Raül Romeva i Rueda, saying: "I am shocked at the scale of the subsidies given to the bluefin fleet. This shows clearly the hypocrisy of the EU, which insists on the need to conserve fish stocks while simultaneously encouraging the rapid expansion of a fleet that was already too large." Since 1955, bluefin tuna populations have shrunk to a quarter of their former size, with the bulk of the reduction occurring since 2002. Between 2001 and the present, the average size of the actual fish has shrunk by half.
Times
Majority of British people want immigration to be dealt with at national level
The Guardian reports that, according to an opinion poll carried out by the German-Marshal Fund think-tank, Britons are uniquely sceptical about the EU policy on immigration policy. People were asked, "Immigration policy should be decided on the...regional, national or EU level". A majority (53%) wanted the powers kept at the national level, almost double the European average of 28%. "There is considerable support in the continental European countries polled for addressing immigration at the European Union level," said the survey. "A majority in all European countries except the United Kingdom favoured immigration policy decision-making at the EU level."
Guardian German Marshal Fund: Survey
France and Germany ready to "beef up the capabilities" of the eurozone group
On his blog, Jean Quatremer reports that Berlin and France have demanded that the election of the new Chair of the eurozone be postponed until 18 January so a debate on the "new role" of the eurozone group could emerge. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the eurozone is given a legal form. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is quoted saying: "it seems to be important for us to identify the necessary means, the objectives of the group, the priorities we have to set, the question on the necessity to have or not have a secretariat, to beef up the capabilities of the Eurogroup". She also mentioned that the international representatives of the eurogroup would be discussed, an issue that has been blocked for the last ten years.
Coulisses de Bruxelles Eurointelligence
Denmark in last-minute crackdown on VAT fraud under EU's ETS scheme
The Guardian reports that Denmark, host of next week's UN climate change conference, has rushed an emergency law through parliament to clamp down on a virulent form of VAT fraud, associated with the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for carbon. The British, French and Dutch governments took similar action in the summer, meaning that much of the fraud involving carbon credits moved to Denmark, where registration of carbon quotas for the ETS is easy and a VAT rate of 25% makes the fraud attractive to international criminals.
The fraud occurs when a trader of carbon credits in one EU country buys some from another country free of VAT, then sells them on, charging the VAT to the buyer. The seller then disappears without handing the VAT to the taxman. Richard Ainsworth, Professor of VAT policy at Boston University is quoted saying: "It is extremely surprising that after the French, British and Dutch had to move against this fraud in the summer that the Danes did not act more quickly, especially with the climate summit about to start."
Meanwhile, the Economist features a special report on the carbon economy, and reports that the European Commission is now looking at setting carbon prices through a carbon tax rather than the current cap-and-trade system. The article claims that "Both methods have their advantages and drawbacks, but a tax wins out for simplicity and stability."
Guardian WSJ Open Europe research
Agreement on AIFM Directive among member states unlikely before Christmas
The FT reports that negotiations between member states, over revisions to the EU's AIFM Directive, are being described as "difficult" by Brussels diplomats. The article quotes one negotiator indicating that general agreement among member states may not be reached before the Spanish EU Presidency takes over on 1 January: "I find it very difficult to see a deal before Christmas". There are still areas where current proposed changes could be toughened further. For example, UK Labour MEP Peter Skinner wants an amendment to force a separation between depositories and management of the funds they safeguard.
FT Open Europe research
EU Commission review of corporate governance could include issues of board responsibility
The Irish Times reports that outgoing EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy will call for Chief Risk Officers in banks to report directly to a special committee of nonexecutive directors, bypassing Chief Executives and Executive Directors in a speech today. The speech will set out some of the thinking in a forthcoming review of corporate governance by the European Commission, although responsibility for the review will lie with Michel Barnier.
Irish Times
Le Monde reports that President Sarkozy has decided on a 'neither nor' policy for Afghanistan. He will neither withdraw French troops, nor reinforce the French force with more troops. The article notes that although no new troops have been promised, the official French response has been to: "applaud the American troop surge".
Le Monde
Spanish site La Información looks at Open Europe's 'Top 50 examples of EU waste', citing the EU funds used to open an Irish pub in Gibraltar.
La Informacion Open Europe research
The Economist's Charlemagne column considers the possibility of Swiss accession to the EU, writing: "Switzerland has much to balance against accession - its low tax rates, its still-discreet banks, its bigger contribution to the EU budget as a full member. Swiss people fear their identity might 'dissolve' in the EU."
No link
The IHT reports that Airbus' A400M military transporter will make its first test flight next week, with hopes that the sight of the plane in flight will help persuade European governments to commit to the programme and shoulder some of its rapidly rising costs.
IHT
Le Figaro reports that Slovenia has declared that it will no longer use its veto to prevent Croatia from joining the EU in 2012.
No link
EurActiv reports that with the Lisbon Treaty now in force the EU has an official competence in sport, and is set to launch a wide stakeholder consultation to prepare for the first EU sports programme. The head of the Commission's sports unit said that the programme will: "Contribute to the promotion of European values (physical and moral integrity of sportspersons, fairness of competitions)".
EurActiv OE blog
In a debate in the House of Commons on Europe yesterday, Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said: "It would also be churlish not to express our gratitude to the Foreign Secretary for his decision to champion Tony Blair in his campaign for the presidency... In the EU, the front-runner seldom gets the job. By doing everything that he could to make Tony Blair the front runner, the Foreign Secretary did a great deal to undermine his case."
Hansard Conservative Home
The WSJ reports that the US' Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has made the first public comments about the effects of the Lisbon Treaty, admitting the Obama administration had scarcely registered the shift. However, he added that the Treaty could help advance cooperation between the EU and the US concerning the mission in Afghanistan.
WSJ
The FT's Brussels blog argues that next week's EU leaders summit in Brussels faces an important choice on Turkey over whether to toughen existing measures which are holding up accession talks over the failure to open up ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
FT: Brussels blog
Belgian daily De Standaard reports that the EU hopes to reach agreement today with Latin America and the US, over the "banana war" which is one of the longest running trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation. A deal would end the preferential treatment of ACP countries and would lead to a lowering of import tariffs on bananas.
Standaard
Le Figaro reports that the European Central Bank is going to leave interests rates unchanged in an attempt to control the level of inflation in the eurozone.
Le Figaro BBC FT
Romanians will go the polls this Sunday to elect a new President.
WSJ
Reuters reports that outgoing EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said yesterday: "In hindsight, perhaps we should have investigated credit rating agencies", over their high ratings for financial products now considered risky. But she did not say whether the Commission would now launch an investigation into the way ratings agencies assign ratings to financial products.
Reuters
During a hearing in the EP, OECD adviser Geoff Lloyd, told MEPs that a financial transactions tax should be considered as a viable option. It notes that the European Commission has "echoed views it has held for a while, saying that if a Tobin tax were to come into being, it should be aimed at speculative transactions and especially derivatives."
Euractiv
A Group of Polish senators is planning to submit a plea to the Polish Constitutional Court to check whether the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with principles of Polish Constitution, reports Wiadomosci.
Wiadomosci
Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.
Brown calls off Sarkozy visit;
Evans-Pritchard: EU's three new finance authorities should be focus of the City's concern
The FT reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy abandoned plans to visit Gordon Brown today to try to calm fears that the City of London will be subject to a French-inspired drive for tighter financial regulation, after the appointment of Michel Barnier to the role of EU Internal Market Commissioner including financial services. The article notes that "Downing Street convinced the Elysée palace that a visit by the French president in the midst of a political backlash could be counter-productive." A headline in Le Monde reads: "Did Sarkozy cancel his trip to London at the request of the British?" The Times notes that Whitehall sources insisted that it had been officials in London, not Paris, who cancelled the visit, and the Mail reports that Brown refused to fit a meeting in with him.
In an interview with La Tribune, Michel Barnier says: "I want everyone to find a bit of calm and serenity. What I read in certain British newspapers doesn't make sense. Nobody needs to explain to me the importance of the City. I share the view of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling: a strong City is in the interests of the whole of Europe." Asked if he will go to London, he says: "I will go to London, of course, if possible before the end of the year. Just as I will go to Madrid, Berlin and the other European capitals. But on Franco-British relations we must not get it wrong. One day I heard the President of the Republic [Sarkozy] expressing in the Council of Ministers his desire to work with London whatever the differences or the problems. He has a good relationship with Gordon Brown and I know that will continue."
The FT quotes French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde insisting that the French "respect and value" the City, but adding: "We need a City that plays by different rules." French Budget Minister Eric Woerth is quoted by the Telegraph saying, "How many Englishmen have there been whose policies didn't suit France? France never said anything...We're not going to apologise (for taking the post)."
Referring to this week's agreement between EU finance ministers to create three new EU authorities with binding powers over national regulators to supervise financial markets, the Telegraph's Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes "the real threat to the City does not come from the Commission. It comes from the three new agencies created to oversee banking (London), insurance and pensions (Frankfurt), and securities (Paris)."
He adds, "These bodies have the power to impose rules on Britain by majority vote. Each of the EU's 27 states has one vote: Malta counts as much as Britain in deciding the fate of the UK's biggest industry. We have no veto. The UK can invoke a safeguard clause if measures infringe 'fiscal sovereignty'. Yet it takes a vote by EU finance ministers to trigger the procedure."
Evans-Pritchard concludes, "Most thinking is informed by street populism, and a desire to believe that the Rhenish model has been vindicated. That is the view that Britain will face in the voting chamber of les trois agences."
The Independent questions Alistair Darling's claim that he has secured "safeguards" concerning the UK's "fiscal responsibility" for European banking rescues. The paper reports that although the text of the agreement states that the new overarching European supervisory authority "shall ensure that no decision... impinges in any way on the fiscal responsibilities of member states", it offers only limited resistance in cases where a national government and European regulators clash. The article notes that "Article 23 of the document leaves open the possibility that a majority of EU finance ministers and the EU regulator could force the UK taxpayer to foot the bill for the bailout of a European institution."
In the House of Commons last night, Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said that the "real loser" from yesterday's meeting of European finance ministers was the Chancellor and the British taxpayer, according to PA.
A leader in the FT argues "The City is rightly alarmed by the approach to finance taken in some EU corridors: the current draft directive on private equity and hedge funds is nonsensical. But not everything that comes out of Brussels is a French plot."
Meanwhile, writing in the Guardian, Fraser Nelson argues that the Conservatives won't "make too much of a fuss defending the City of London from the threat of EU regulation...lest they are accused of being in league with their banker friends."
Le Monde Times EUobserver FT: Peel FT FT: Leader AFP WSJ Guardian City AM Telegraph Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard Telegraph: Hannan blog City AM 2 Independent WSJ 2 Guardian: Nelson Open Europe briefing AFP El País ABC La Tribune Le Monde Le Monde 2 Mail
EU gives €34.5 million to help subsidise over-fishing of bluefin tuna
The Times reports that, in answer to a European parliamentary question from a Spanish MEP, the EU's Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg has revealed that, between 2000 and 2008, the EU has given a total of €34.5 million to subsidise Mediterranean tuna fishing fleets, despite warnings from scientists that overfishing is pushing the species close to extinction. Spain received more than half of the subsidy, with French and Italian fleets the next biggest beneficiaries. Cyprus, Malta and Greece were also given money.
The article quotes the Green MEP, Raül Romeva i Rueda, saying: "I am shocked at the scale of the subsidies given to the bluefin fleet. This shows clearly the hypocrisy of the EU, which insists on the need to conserve fish stocks while simultaneously encouraging the rapid expansion of a fleet that was already too large." Since 1955, bluefin tuna populations have shrunk to a quarter of their former size, with the bulk of the reduction occurring since 2002. Between 2001 and the present, the average size of the actual fish has shrunk by half.
Times
Majority of British people want immigration to be dealt with at national level
The Guardian reports that, according to an opinion poll carried out by the German-Marshal Fund think-tank, Britons are uniquely sceptical about the EU policy on immigration policy. People were asked, "Immigration policy should be decided on the...regional, national or EU level". A majority (53%) wanted the powers kept at the national level, almost double the European average of 28%. "There is considerable support in the continental European countries polled for addressing immigration at the European Union level," said the survey. "A majority in all European countries except the United Kingdom favoured immigration policy decision-making at the EU level."
Guardian German Marshal Fund: Survey
France and Germany ready to "beef up the capabilities" of the eurozone group
On his blog, Jean Quatremer reports that Berlin and France have demanded that the election of the new Chair of the eurozone be postponed until 18 January so a debate on the "new role" of the eurozone group could emerge. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the eurozone is given a legal form. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is quoted saying: "it seems to be important for us to identify the necessary means, the objectives of the group, the priorities we have to set, the question on the necessity to have or not have a secretariat, to beef up the capabilities of the Eurogroup". She also mentioned that the international representatives of the eurogroup would be discussed, an issue that has been blocked for the last ten years.
Coulisses de Bruxelles Eurointelligence
Denmark in last-minute crackdown on VAT fraud under EU's ETS scheme
The Guardian reports that Denmark, host of next week's UN climate change conference, has rushed an emergency law through parliament to clamp down on a virulent form of VAT fraud, associated with the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for carbon. The British, French and Dutch governments took similar action in the summer, meaning that much of the fraud involving carbon credits moved to Denmark, where registration of carbon quotas for the ETS is easy and a VAT rate of 25% makes the fraud attractive to international criminals.
The fraud occurs when a trader of carbon credits in one EU country buys some from another country free of VAT, then sells them on, charging the VAT to the buyer. The seller then disappears without handing the VAT to the taxman. Richard Ainsworth, Professor of VAT policy at Boston University is quoted saying: "It is extremely surprising that after the French, British and Dutch had to move against this fraud in the summer that the Danes did not act more quickly, especially with the climate summit about to start."
Meanwhile, the Economist features a special report on the carbon economy, and reports that the European Commission is now looking at setting carbon prices through a carbon tax rather than the current cap-and-trade system. The article claims that "Both methods have their advantages and drawbacks, but a tax wins out for simplicity and stability."
Guardian WSJ Open Europe research
Agreement on AIFM Directive among member states unlikely before Christmas
The FT reports that negotiations between member states, over revisions to the EU's AIFM Directive, are being described as "difficult" by Brussels diplomats. The article quotes one negotiator indicating that general agreement among member states may not be reached before the Spanish EU Presidency takes over on 1 January: "I find it very difficult to see a deal before Christmas". There are still areas where current proposed changes could be toughened further. For example, UK Labour MEP Peter Skinner wants an amendment to force a separation between depositories and management of the funds they safeguard.
FT Open Europe research
EU Commission review of corporate governance could include issues of board responsibility
The Irish Times reports that outgoing EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy will call for Chief Risk Officers in banks to report directly to a special committee of nonexecutive directors, bypassing Chief Executives and Executive Directors in a speech today. The speech will set out some of the thinking in a forthcoming review of corporate governance by the European Commission, although responsibility for the review will lie with Michel Barnier.
Irish Times
Le Monde reports that President Sarkozy has decided on a 'neither nor' policy for Afghanistan. He will neither withdraw French troops, nor reinforce the French force with more troops. The article notes that although no new troops have been promised, the official French response has been to: "applaud the American troop surge".
Le Monde
Spanish site La Información looks at Open Europe's 'Top 50 examples of EU waste', citing the EU funds used to open an Irish pub in Gibraltar.
La Informacion Open Europe research
The Economist's Charlemagne column considers the possibility of Swiss accession to the EU, writing: "Switzerland has much to balance against accession - its low tax rates, its still-discreet banks, its bigger contribution to the EU budget as a full member. Swiss people fear their identity might 'dissolve' in the EU."
No link
The IHT reports that Airbus' A400M military transporter will make its first test flight next week, with hopes that the sight of the plane in flight will help persuade European governments to commit to the programme and shoulder some of its rapidly rising costs.
IHT
Le Figaro reports that Slovenia has declared that it will no longer use its veto to prevent Croatia from joining the EU in 2012.
No link
EurActiv reports that with the Lisbon Treaty now in force the EU has an official competence in sport, and is set to launch a wide stakeholder consultation to prepare for the first EU sports programme. The head of the Commission's sports unit said that the programme will: "Contribute to the promotion of European values (physical and moral integrity of sportspersons, fairness of competitions)".
EurActiv OE blog
In a debate in the House of Commons on Europe yesterday, Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said: "It would also be churlish not to express our gratitude to the Foreign Secretary for his decision to champion Tony Blair in his campaign for the presidency... In the EU, the front-runner seldom gets the job. By doing everything that he could to make Tony Blair the front runner, the Foreign Secretary did a great deal to undermine his case."
Hansard Conservative Home
The WSJ reports that the US' Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has made the first public comments about the effects of the Lisbon Treaty, admitting the Obama administration had scarcely registered the shift. However, he added that the Treaty could help advance cooperation between the EU and the US concerning the mission in Afghanistan.
WSJ
The FT's Brussels blog argues that next week's EU leaders summit in Brussels faces an important choice on Turkey over whether to toughen existing measures which are holding up accession talks over the failure to open up ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
FT: Brussels blog
Belgian daily De Standaard reports that the EU hopes to reach agreement today with Latin America and the US, over the "banana war" which is one of the longest running trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation. A deal would end the preferential treatment of ACP countries and would lead to a lowering of import tariffs on bananas.
Standaard
Le Figaro reports that the European Central Bank is going to leave interests rates unchanged in an attempt to control the level of inflation in the eurozone.
Le Figaro BBC FT
Romanians will go the polls this Sunday to elect a new President.
WSJ
Reuters reports that outgoing EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said yesterday: "In hindsight, perhaps we should have investigated credit rating agencies", over their high ratings for financial products now considered risky. But she did not say whether the Commission would now launch an investigation into the way ratings agencies assign ratings to financial products.
Reuters
During a hearing in the EP, OECD adviser Geoff Lloyd, told MEPs that a financial transactions tax should be considered as a viable option. It notes that the European Commission has "echoed views it has held for a while, saying that if a Tobin tax were to come into being, it should be aimed at speculative transactions and especially derivatives."
Euractiv
A Group of Polish senators is planning to submit a plea to the Polish Constitutional Court to check whether the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with principles of Polish Constitution, reports Wiadomosci.
Wiadomosci
Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.
Obama Cap N Trade built on lies
Just like in the Wizard of Oz, the curtain was torn back and leading proponents of anthropogenic (people caused) global warming have been caught lying
Called Climategate, the scandal exposes the global warming shysters who are conning the public into a massive restructuring of the global economy, while attempting to silence any dissent. But don’t expect to see this in our mainstream media, because they are the spinsters who promote this manipulation of data and propaganda.
With Obama preparing to head to Copenhagen for UN meetings on global warming, expect to see “green” propaganda exponentially increasing.
The scandal all began when an anonymous person accessed the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit in England, releasing 61 megabites of confidential files, including 1079 e-mails and 72 documents onto the internet. These files are a wealth of information.
The most damning indictment of proponents of global warming hysteria is a long series of communications discussing how best to squeeze dissenting scientists out of the peer review process. The e-mails even included fantasies of violence against those who question anthropogenic global warming. These e-mails show disturbing patterns of “Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more,” says Australian Sun’s, Andrew Bolt.
Man-made global warming hysteria has long been fueled by people using junk science, fear and hyperbole to support an agenda that they personally profit from. As they attempt to lead the world into a green revolution, these propagandists are hiding the truth that the average global temperature has fallen since 1998.
The leading profiteering propagandist is Al Gore. After losing the presidential election in 2000, Al Gore became the leader of the hysteria movement. However, this “Eco-Prophet” has hidden a few inconvenient truths of his own. He just happens to be involved with a venture capital firm that has invested approximately a billion dollars in green companies that stand to make a bundle if Obama's Cap-and-Trade bill becomes law.
Reports state that Gore’s net worth now stands at $100 Million, when it was $2 million when he left politics. He’s laughing all the way to the bank.
Al Gore has a history of playing loose with the facts.
Recently on TV, while discussing Geo-thermal energy, Al Gore made the outrageous claim that “the interior of the earth is extremely hot, several million degrees.” However, the actual temperature here on earth is between 5,000 and 9,000 degrees. This is a gaffe that if Sarah Palin had made, the media would ridicule as her stupid.
Speaking of hypocrisy, Al Gore is a living embodiment of it. As he lectures the world on energy use, and lobbies Congress to regulate productive American companies out of business, Gore consumes more than twenty times more energy as the average American, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. This doesn’t count the energy consumption of his jet.
Gore’s Inconvenient Truth is full of instances where he plays loose with the facts. A 2007 British court ruled that Gore's film has nine significant refutable errors. These are examples of Gore’s scare tactics to induce the public to take radical action (to his financial benefit.)
Not only is Gore prone to hyperbole, hypocrisy and blatant distortions, he is also a bully. Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT, wrote about scientists being "in the crosshairs" of Gore, who "tried to bully" them into changing "their views and supporting his climate alarmism." Lindzen also refers to a failed Gore effort to "enlist Ted Koppel (then a TV host) in a witch hunt to discredit anti-alarmist scientists."
When one side tries to shut another side out of the debate, it is typically because they feel their arguments won’t stand up to scrutiny.
These propagandists use various tactics. A favorite is to make people feel guilty if they don’t jump on the “green” bandwagon, and those who do, feel good are praised for helping the environment. Obama is an expert at this tactic.
Open your eyes to these manipulators of data and people, who while acting like do-gooders, see great (green as in money) gain.
Warm regards,
Floyd Brown
ImpeachObamaCampaign.com is a project of the Policy Issues Institute.
Contributions are not deductible for tax purposes.
30011 Ivy Glenn Dr., Suite 223
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Please take the time right now to add impeachobama@impeachobamacampaign-news.com to your Contacts List, Buddy List or Safe Senders List so you do not miss a single issue.
Called Climategate, the scandal exposes the global warming shysters who are conning the public into a massive restructuring of the global economy, while attempting to silence any dissent. But don’t expect to see this in our mainstream media, because they are the spinsters who promote this manipulation of data and propaganda.
With Obama preparing to head to Copenhagen for UN meetings on global warming, expect to see “green” propaganda exponentially increasing.
The scandal all began when an anonymous person accessed the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit in England, releasing 61 megabites of confidential files, including 1079 e-mails and 72 documents onto the internet. These files are a wealth of information.
The most damning indictment of proponents of global warming hysteria is a long series of communications discussing how best to squeeze dissenting scientists out of the peer review process. The e-mails even included fantasies of violence against those who question anthropogenic global warming. These e-mails show disturbing patterns of “Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more,” says Australian Sun’s, Andrew Bolt.
Man-made global warming hysteria has long been fueled by people using junk science, fear and hyperbole to support an agenda that they personally profit from. As they attempt to lead the world into a green revolution, these propagandists are hiding the truth that the average global temperature has fallen since 1998.
The leading profiteering propagandist is Al Gore. After losing the presidential election in 2000, Al Gore became the leader of the hysteria movement. However, this “Eco-Prophet” has hidden a few inconvenient truths of his own. He just happens to be involved with a venture capital firm that has invested approximately a billion dollars in green companies that stand to make a bundle if Obama's Cap-and-Trade bill becomes law.
Reports state that Gore’s net worth now stands at $100 Million, when it was $2 million when he left politics. He’s laughing all the way to the bank.
Al Gore has a history of playing loose with the facts.
Recently on TV, while discussing Geo-thermal energy, Al Gore made the outrageous claim that “the interior of the earth is extremely hot, several million degrees.” However, the actual temperature here on earth is between 5,000 and 9,000 degrees. This is a gaffe that if Sarah Palin had made, the media would ridicule as her stupid.
Speaking of hypocrisy, Al Gore is a living embodiment of it. As he lectures the world on energy use, and lobbies Congress to regulate productive American companies out of business, Gore consumes more than twenty times more energy as the average American, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. This doesn’t count the energy consumption of his jet.
Gore’s Inconvenient Truth is full of instances where he plays loose with the facts. A 2007 British court ruled that Gore's film has nine significant refutable errors. These are examples of Gore’s scare tactics to induce the public to take radical action (to his financial benefit.)
Not only is Gore prone to hyperbole, hypocrisy and blatant distortions, he is also a bully. Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT, wrote about scientists being "in the crosshairs" of Gore, who "tried to bully" them into changing "their views and supporting his climate alarmism." Lindzen also refers to a failed Gore effort to "enlist Ted Koppel (then a TV host) in a witch hunt to discredit anti-alarmist scientists."
When one side tries to shut another side out of the debate, it is typically because they feel their arguments won’t stand up to scrutiny.
These propagandists use various tactics. A favorite is to make people feel guilty if they don’t jump on the “green” bandwagon, and those who do, feel good are praised for helping the environment. Obama is an expert at this tactic.
Open your eyes to these manipulators of data and people, who while acting like do-gooders, see great (green as in money) gain.
Warm regards,
Floyd Brown
ImpeachObamaCampaign.com is a project of the Policy Issues Institute.
Contributions are not deductible for tax purposes.
30011 Ivy Glenn Dr., Suite 223
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Please take the time right now to add impeachobama@impeachobamacampaign-news.com to your Contacts List, Buddy List or Safe Senders List so you do not miss a single issue.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Will God Curse Our Countries For Christmas?
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
"You don't celebrate Christmas?" Well, not any more.
1 Peter 4:3-5
For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
I realize that those who are still drunk on the wine of the Babylonian Mystery religion (incorporated into the Roman Catholic Cult as brought out in The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop) don't appreciate or comprehend those who are now SOBER and happy to be free from idolatrous traditions for the plain truth of the Bible and history.
The Sabbath-keeping Church of God rejoices in the knowledge and glorious plan of salvation for all mankind that the biblical festivals, the holy days that our Great Creator God has ordained portray - no longer falling for the hollow days of pagan Rome, pimped by Roman wolves in sheep's clothing, false father figures.
The Sabbath-keeping Church of God celebrate that soon everybody will join us in celebrating God's holy days, the "Jewish holidays" in spirit and in truth, and will trash their former tinsel traditions. We are pioneers of the Wonderful World Tomorrow!
Jeremiah 16:19
O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things."
It is sad when folks continue to fall for all the RELIGIOUS BULL Rome has dumped on the world and pretend they're worshipping Christ who hates such PAGAN ABOMINATIONS. Why remain in denial?
God is truth and despises such religious lies as Christmas and Easter. They're PAGAN to the core and God's People avoid them like the plague, happy with the biblical festivals God has given us to celebrate.
Yeshua, the King of the Jews, the King of Israel, will return and reign supreme from Jerusalem and teach the Torah, slaughtering the papal bull by the sword of the truth.
Isaiah 2:2-3
2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the [Temple] mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.
”For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem [not Rome].
Yeshua will establish the law of God as the law of the land, the law of all the Earth! That holy law reveals the seven biblical festivals of the LORD that Yeshua will faithfully teach and command all nations to observe or else - not just the Jewish people and British-Israelites.
Yes, too many people have inherited religious lies, and have passed down traditional error from generation to generation; worthless celebrations that God hates and rejects as unclean and polluted.
It bears repeating, since our proud and stubborn peoples have thick skulls that need the truth knocked into them, driving home this biblical message: Christmas and Easter are PAGAN -- those who say otherwise are liars, dishonest with themselves and others, worshipping God in vain (Titus 1:16, 1 John 2:4).
I believe many PROFESSING Christians are actually familiar with the Scriptures that condemn futile attempts to modify pagan holidays and tailor heathen customs to serve the true God (Deut. 12:30-32, Jer. 10:2-3), but they conveniently ignore them or reject them by woeful neglect when such Scriptures step on their traditional toes and make them uncomfortable, demanding change (isn't that what true conversion is all about?), requiring them to learn to love God's truth more than their TRADITIONS (Mark 7:7).
Abominable Christians, those who have the perverted religious preference of tradition over truth, are just like every other sinner unwilling to confess and forsake their sins and seek to whitewash or justify them.
The difference is such professing Christians often pretend to be better or more righteous than those physical idolaters and immoral folks (who also refuse to repent) while they engage in spiritual idolatry (putting tradition over truth) and spiritual immorality (whoring around with other gods and foreign ways) bringing divine judgment upon our nations.
May the servants of God, who know and believe the Bible and its principles and prophecies about blessings for national obedience and curses for national disobedience (Dan. 9:11), plea for diehard Catholics and Protestants to REPENT!
May we take the Word of God seriously and turn from the pagan holidays that God hates so much He let ancient Israel and Judah suffer destruction, defeat and deportation for such "harmless" celebrations and blind observations.
Will we insist on losing our national sovereignty too, brought to our knees to learn to see things God's way or will we repent and spare ourselves, our family and friends, from suffering the dreadful Time of Jacob's Trouble, the Great Tribulation?
1 Corinthians 10:19-21
19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. [No mixing and matching of pagan error with biblical truth]
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? [No diluting, adulterating and polluting of God's truth with pagan blends]Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people."
17 Therefore
"Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord. [Don't stay stuck in the rut of tradition, but let the plain truth set you free!]
Do not touch what is unclean,
And [then] I will receive you.
18 [on these conditions] I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty."
"You don't celebrate Christmas?" Well, not any more.
1 Peter 4:3-5
For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
I realize that those who are still drunk on the wine of the Babylonian Mystery religion (incorporated into the Roman Catholic Cult as brought out in The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop) don't appreciate or comprehend those who are now SOBER and happy to be free from idolatrous traditions for the plain truth of the Bible and history.
The Sabbath-keeping Church of God rejoices in the knowledge and glorious plan of salvation for all mankind that the biblical festivals, the holy days that our Great Creator God has ordained portray - no longer falling for the hollow days of pagan Rome, pimped by Roman wolves in sheep's clothing, false father figures.
The Sabbath-keeping Church of God celebrate that soon everybody will join us in celebrating God's holy days, the "Jewish holidays" in spirit and in truth, and will trash their former tinsel traditions. We are pioneers of the Wonderful World Tomorrow!
Jeremiah 16:19
O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things."
It is sad when folks continue to fall for all the RELIGIOUS BULL Rome has dumped on the world and pretend they're worshipping Christ who hates such PAGAN ABOMINATIONS. Why remain in denial?
God is truth and despises such religious lies as Christmas and Easter. They're PAGAN to the core and God's People avoid them like the plague, happy with the biblical festivals God has given us to celebrate.
Yeshua, the King of the Jews, the King of Israel, will return and reign supreme from Jerusalem and teach the Torah, slaughtering the papal bull by the sword of the truth.
Isaiah 2:2-3
2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the [Temple] mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.
”For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem [not Rome].
Yeshua will establish the law of God as the law of the land, the law of all the Earth! That holy law reveals the seven biblical festivals of the LORD that Yeshua will faithfully teach and command all nations to observe or else - not just the Jewish people and British-Israelites.
Yes, too many people have inherited religious lies, and have passed down traditional error from generation to generation; worthless celebrations that God hates and rejects as unclean and polluted.
It bears repeating, since our proud and stubborn peoples have thick skulls that need the truth knocked into them, driving home this biblical message: Christmas and Easter are PAGAN -- those who say otherwise are liars, dishonest with themselves and others, worshipping God in vain (Titus 1:16, 1 John 2:4).
I believe many PROFESSING Christians are actually familiar with the Scriptures that condemn futile attempts to modify pagan holidays and tailor heathen customs to serve the true God (Deut. 12:30-32, Jer. 10:2-3), but they conveniently ignore them or reject them by woeful neglect when such Scriptures step on their traditional toes and make them uncomfortable, demanding change (isn't that what true conversion is all about?), requiring them to learn to love God's truth more than their TRADITIONS (Mark 7:7).
Abominable Christians, those who have the perverted religious preference of tradition over truth, are just like every other sinner unwilling to confess and forsake their sins and seek to whitewash or justify them.
The difference is such professing Christians often pretend to be better or more righteous than those physical idolaters and immoral folks (who also refuse to repent) while they engage in spiritual idolatry (putting tradition over truth) and spiritual immorality (whoring around with other gods and foreign ways) bringing divine judgment upon our nations.
May the servants of God, who know and believe the Bible and its principles and prophecies about blessings for national obedience and curses for national disobedience (Dan. 9:11), plea for diehard Catholics and Protestants to REPENT!
May we take the Word of God seriously and turn from the pagan holidays that God hates so much He let ancient Israel and Judah suffer destruction, defeat and deportation for such "harmless" celebrations and blind observations.
Will we insist on losing our national sovereignty too, brought to our knees to learn to see things God's way or will we repent and spare ourselves, our family and friends, from suffering the dreadful Time of Jacob's Trouble, the Great Tribulation?
1 Corinthians 10:19-21
19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. [No mixing and matching of pagan error with biblical truth]
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? [No diluting, adulterating and polluting of God's truth with pagan blends]Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people."
17 Therefore
"Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord. [Don't stay stuck in the rut of tradition, but let the plain truth set you free!]
Do not touch what is unclean,
And [then] I will receive you.
18 [on these conditions] I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty."
Jews must never cede an inch of Israel!
“No Jew is at liberty to surrender the right of the Jewish Nation and the Land of Israel to exist. No Jewish body is sanctioned to do so. No Jew alive today has the authority to yield any piece of land whatsoever. This right is preserved by the Jewish people throughout the generations and cannot be forfeited under any circumstance. Even if at some given time there will be those who declare that they are relinquishing this right, they have neither the power nor the jurisdiction to negate it for future generations to come. The Jewish Nation is neither obligated by nor responsible for any waiver such as this. Our right to this land in its entirety, is steadfast, inalienable and eternal. And until the coming of the Great Redemption, we shall never yield this historic right.”
DAVID BEN-GURION
Koran submits it's the Promised Land of Israel!
Khaleel Mohammed states in an interview in FrontPage Magazine:
So the simple fact is then, from a faith-based point of view: If God has “written” Israel for the people of Moses, who can change this?
The Qur’an refers to the exiles, but leaves it open for return…saying to the Jews that if they keep their promise to God, then God will keep the divine promise to them. WE may argue that the present state of Israel was not created in the most peaceful means, and that many were displaced–for me, this is not the issue. The issue is that when the Muslims entered that land in the seventh century, they were well aware of its rightful owners, and when they failed to act according to divine mandate (at least as perceived by followers of all Abrahamic faiths), they aided and abetted in a crime. And the present situation shows the fruits of that action–wherein innocent Palestinians and Israelis are being killed on a daily basis.
I also draw your attention to the fact that the medieval exegetes of Qur’an–without any exception known to me–recognized Israel as belonging to the Jews, their birthright given to them. Indeed, two of Islam’s most famous exegetes explained “written” from Quran 5:21 thus:
Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373) said: “That which God has written for you” i.e. That which God has promised to you by the words of your father Israel that it is the inheritance of those among you who believe” . Muhammad al-Shawkani (d. 1250/1834) interprets Kataba to mean “that which God has allotted and predestined for you in His primordial knowledge, deeming it as a place of residence for you” (1992, 2:41).
Open Europe press summary: 3 December 2009
Europe
UK Government accused of caving in over proposals for single European financial regulator
EU finance ministers yesterday agreed to proposals for three new EU authorities with binding powers over national regulators to supervise the bloc's financial markets, amid growing fears that the new EU regulators will move key powers away from national supervisors and impinge on national fiscal sovereignty.
Several papers report that the UK Government gave in on some of the most controversial aspects of the proposal, including reversing the 'burden of proof' to justify actions in inevitable disputes over national sovereignty. Despite British objections, finance ministers agreed that in the event of a challenge over a decision made by the EU authorities, the complaining country must first get the support of a majority of Europe's 27 governments in order to block the EU's ruling, the Telegraph reports. The paper quotes an EU official saying, "The real concession is that burden of proof will rest with Britain, or the complainant country. It has to get a majority against the supervisor. It will not be a question of the supervisor having to get a majority to support it in a dispute with a national government. This tips the balance."
Qualified majority voting or simple majority voting will also apply along the decision-making chain, except following an appeal in cases where an 'emergency' has been called. However, this mechanism is only invoked when a crisis has been declared, meaning that in normal circumstances the European regulator can overrule national regulators. The existence of an emergency or a crisis will be decided by EU ministers through simple majority.
The Mail and This is Money quote Open Europe's Mats Persson saying, "The UK has lost out badly in the negotiations. The key thing is the UK can be outvoted at any time." Mark Hoban, the Conservatives' Shadow Treasury Minister is quoted in the Telegraph saying "Does the Government have a veto over any decisions made by the ESA [the new EU authorities] in an emergency that have a fiscal impact on Britain, or do they have to make an appeal against these decisions? This is another example of the Government failing to stick to its red lines." A lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna is quoted in the FT saying, "We should not agree to more Europe until there is a fundamental change in the way regulatory policy is made and deployed in the EU."
Alistair Darling insisted that he had secured "safeguards" ensuring that Britain would be able to appeal measures that it regarded as "impinging on the fiscal responsibilities of member states." The French press quotes French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde saying, "It's been a laborious process, but I think that today Europe has made real progress in banking and finance matters... We are in the process of creating a real European supervisor." The proposal will now be considered by the European Parliament, which has to agree before the proposal can become law. Criticising yesterday's decision, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe leader Guy Verhofstadt MEP accused the Council of "trying to impose its own views and its own agenda" and said the proposal didn't go far enough, according to Euractiv.
Meanwhile, the 'war on words' between France and the City of London continues, following Sarkozy's comments last week that the British were "the big losers" in the new European Commission given the appointment of Michel Barnier as Internal Market Commissioner. Angela Knight, the Chief Executive of the British Bankers Association said yesterday that "Monsieur Sarkozy must surely recognise that he has undermined the EU with his statements and put a question mark over the impartiality of his nominated commissioner that will not be easily dispelled." An article in Le Figaro notes that Sarkozy's comments may have undermined Barnier's position, by casting doubt on the impartiality of his appointment. The Mail reports that Nicolas Sarkozy has cancelled a meeting with Gordon Brown, originally planned for tomorrow, while the FT says the meeting will go ahead.
Le Figaro Independent: O'Grady Independent International Herald Tribune Mail 2 Times Mail: Leader Mail: Oborne Guardian: Elliott Times: Letters Conservative Home: Lea Times: Fraser Economist: Charlemagne's notebook Euobserver BBC EurActiv European Voice Telegraph Telegraph-Warner Telegraph-Reece This is Money Europaportalen FT FT2 Guardian
EU social laws will cost £71 billion over next decade
The Mail reports on Open Europe's recent briefing which showed that EU social laws, including health and safety rules, will cost the UK economy £71 billion over the next ten years, even in the unlikely scenario that the EU will not introduce any extra social legislation over that time period. The cost comes on top of the estimated £37 billion cost of European social legislation over the previous ten years - representing 25% of the total cost of regulation in the UK over that time period.
The article notes that earlier this week Conservative leader David Cameron pledged to cure the 'national neurosis' caused by Labour's expansion of health and safety rules, and quotes Open Europe saying, "David Cameron is absolutely right to push for a more common sense approach to social and health and safety laws. However, any meaningful effort to tackle overly prescriptive rules must focus overwhelmingly at the EU level for the simple reason that a clear majority of our laws in this area now stem from Brussels, and without any change the cost of these laws will continue to go up. In addition to renegotiating existing EU rules which are deemed unnecessary, a Conservative government must also commit to stemming the steady flow of new regulations coming from Brussels every year which impose unnecessary burdens on frontline public sector workers and businesses."
Mail Open Europe research
EU outlines police exchange scheme to create "common culture" of policing
The BBC reports that the EU is planning "student-style exchanges" for European police and judges as part of its new five year justice and home affairs blueprint, known as the Stockholm Programme. EU leaders are expected to approve the Stockholm Programme at a summit in Brussels next week. The funding arrangements and other details are yet to be worked out.
In its policy brief on the Stockholm Programme, the European Commission said that the EU should aim "to train one third of European police officers and border guards in European affairs over the next five years." Meanwhile, an informal group of home affairs ministers, the so-called Future Group, whose recommendations laid the foundations for the Stockholm Programme, said the EU should create a "common culture" of policing.
BBC Open Europe press release Open Europe research
Ashton: EU Foreign Minister role is "brand new...I inherited a blank piece of paper";
Lord Mandelson reveals that he would have liked to be EU Foreign Minister
The EU's newly appointed Foreign Minister, Baroness Catherine Ashton, appeared before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday for a question and answer session, before her official confirmation hearing in January. EUobserver reports that Lady Ashton often avoided giving any clear answers on foreign policy issues like the post-war situation in Georgia or the recognition of the newly elected president in Honduras. German Liberal MEP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff commented: "I do have to say we want more specific answers when you come back to us".
Lady Ashton said in her closing remarks: "This is brand new. I do not have an office, I do not have a Cabinet, I do not have a team. I inherited a blank piece of paper and at the moment I have written one or two small things on it." This is despite saying in the House of Lords, when she was responsible for guiding Lisbon through the House, that, "The proposal is that we have a high representative who becomes the vice-president of the Commission with very specific functions. That is a defined role within the treaty which is vested in one person."
Ashton added: "My office base will be in the Commission building. For two simple reasons: I know where the coffee is, and I know how that building functions, so I don't have to think about the logistics of that."
The Irish Times quotes her saying: "I won't pretend that I've got considered detailed views on everything because it was only last Thursday I discovered I was going to be doing this job and it's a day and a half in."
EurActiv reports that, when asked to comment by Lithuanian MEP Vytautas Landsbergis on the Nord Stream gas pipeline projected, Ashton left the impression that she was unaware of the fact that the pipeline was considered a pan-European project under the EU's 'Trans-European Networks' energy guidelines. Her performance caused an MEP from the Socialist grouping, Hannes Swoboda, to intervene and set the record straight.
A leader in Sueddeutsche Zeitung argues: "Ashton is still too weak to bolster EU foreign policy and to protect the EU external action service from going in the wrong direction."
Meanwhile, speaking to the BBC Today programme, Lord Mandelson revealed that he did want to become the EU's first Foreign Minister: "in other circumstances I would have liked to have done that job". He added that "it combines my interests in Europe and foreign affairs". He denied that President Sarkozy had blocked him from the job, adding: "Nobody blocked me, I'm afraid we didn't get to that happy stage."
EUobserver EurActiv International Herald Tribune Telegraph Guardian EP press release Irish Times FT Mail Times BBC Guardian Today programme OE blog
Javier Solana: EU External Action Service will have military as well as civilian personnel
In an interview with Le Monde, outgoing High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Javier Solana, defends the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton. Asked whether the new EU External Action Service, which he has previously described as "the world's biggest diplomatic service", will be complicated by rivalries between the Commission, the Parliament and the member states, Solana replies: "The service will be a new institution situated between the Commission and the Council. It will be made up of civil and military personnel." Asked about the priorities of the service, he says it will be interested first and foremost in neighbouring regions, in the Mediterranean, the East and Russia. However he adds: "It must also have in mind global action. We are not only an economic or trade organisation. I want, I hope, to put forward a political will to play a role in international affairs."
Asked if there is a growing gap between Europe and America over Afghanistan, Solana says: "I don't think that one can talk of a big gap with the United Sates: there are 30,000 Europeans deployed over there under the NATO umbrella. It is unfair to say that Europe's involvement is too modest."
Le Monde
Barnier pledges to interfere in EU Agriculture Commissioner's job
Euractiv reports that French Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier has said he will keep a close watch on the work of his colleagues in the European Commission, citing in particular the new Agriculture Commissioner, Romania's Dacian Cioloş. Barnier said: "He will be independent but I will give him my opinion," insisting on the need to "preserve farm regulations because feeding people is not a service like any other". The appointment of Dacian Cioloş, a Romanian who has claimed France is his "adoptive country," is seen as a victory for Paris, which supported his nomination.
Euractiv
French PM tries to designate 2 MPs to become 'ghost' MEPs
On his blog, Jean Quatremer reports that French Prime Minister François Fillon has asked the leader of the National Assembly to choose one MP from the ruling UMP party and one from the opposition Socialists to become MEPs, given that the Lisbon Treaty increases the number of French MEPs from 72 to 74. Quatremer notes that "the public authorities 'forgot' to alert voters" to the fact that under Lisbon they would get two extra MEPs when they went to the polls for the European Parliament elections in June. He says that, unlike the majority of other countries, France did not work out a method for determining which French regions would benefit from the extra 2 MEPs, hence the decision to pluck two deputies from the National Assembly.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Deputy Leader of the Green group in the European Parliament, has attacked the decision as a "stitch-up" between the UMP and the Socialist Party, while British Lib Dem MEP Andrew Duff has said that the move is against the 1976 rules on the election of MEPs, which rule out designating MEPs from national parliaments. EurActiv reports that French Green MEP Sandrine Bélier criticised the plan saying, "It is a democratic aberration...How will these new MEPs be chosen? For their merit or because they are useless at the National Assembly?"
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog notes that, because Germany stands to lose 3 MEPs under the Lisbon arrangements, and since it is difficult to 'deselect' MEPs that have already been elected, Germany will keep all its MEPs until June 2014, meaning the total number of MEPs will be 754 instead of the 751 envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty. Quatremer notes that, just to complicate things further, the decision to have more MEPs than envisaged by Lisbon requires a change to treaties and therefore must be ratified by all 27 member state parliaments. In December, EU leaders decided to add an ad hoc annex to the next accession Treaty, which will say that the new MPs cannot sit until 2012. In the meantime, the 'ghost' MEPs will have 'observer' status but will not be able to vote.
Meanwhile, EurActiv reports that the additional 'ghost' MEP for the UK has still not been decided, but sources indicate that the extra seat will go to the West Midlands region, meaning Conservative candidate Anthea McIntyre would be appointed. However, EP sources indicated yesterday that a row could still break out, because Scotland and London are seeking an exception to the existing rules so that their region would receive the new MEP.
Coulisses de Bruxelles EurActiv
Conservatives see donations surge from the City as concern grows over EU financial regulation
The FT reports that the Conservatives claim that the party has received a boost in donations following the Government's poor response to the slew of proposals for more regulation and supervision coming out of Brussels, which has been reinforced by the poor handling of the European Commission appointments. "There may have been from time to time issues [of Conservative policy] that some people felt uncomfortable about ... but the City is so appalled by the government now that they just want these people out," said Richard Spring, a Conservative MP, according to the FT.
FT
New report: EU's biofuels policy "borders on economic madness"
PA reports that a new report from the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) has found that the EU is subsidising the biofuels industry to the tune of €4bn. The report's author Fredrik Erixon said, "Europe's biofuels policy borders to economic madness. It is costly and protectionist. It is designed to support European farmers rather than to shift Europe's energy consumption away from fossil fuels".
ECIPE report Open Europe research
Tim Montgomerie: Cameron's rating fell after he announced his new Europe policy
A survey of UK voters for Politics Home shows that David Cameron's approval rating fell from +36 on 18 September to +21 on 27 November. On Conservative Home, Tim Montgomerie notes that the fall in Cameron's rating coincided with his announcement that a Conservative government would not hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Conservative Home: Montgomerie Politics Home
Swedish unions ordered to pay damages after blockade against foreign EU workers
Swedish unions have been ordered to pay around €55,000 in damages to Latvian construction company Laval, a Swedish court has ruled, following a decision two years ago by the ECJ that the Swedish unions were breaking EU law when they engaged in a blockade against the Latvian firm which was refurbishing a school outside Stockholm, Sweden. The Swedish unions claimed that Laval undercut local wages, but the ECJ ruled that the unions' demands were arbitrary and the strike therefore illegal.
Europaportalen Open Europe research
Nato foreign ministers are meeting today in Brussels to discuss Afghanistan, amid calls for Nato allies to pledge more than 5,000 additional troops, following President Obama's commitment for 30,000 more troops next year. Several members, including France and Germany, are thought to be reluctant to do so.
EUobserver BBC Sun
The FT Deutschland has a leader with the title "Punish Greece!" arguing that "Greek governments have disregarded the EU stability pact for years and thereby endanger Monetary Union. Because of that, harder punishments are now needed."
FTD: Leader FT WSJ
In an interview with LabourList former Europe Minister Caroline Flint comments: "One thing I became really aware of when I became Europe minister is that we have had a constant change of ministers in that role; what are we up to now, 12, 13? We've had two even since I resigned. I don't think that constant change is helpful."
Labour List
After a 'conciliation' agreement between the European Council and the European Parliament, the total 2010 EU budget has been set at €141.453 billion in commitments and €122.937 billion in payments.
EP press release
European Voice reports that MEPs are split along party lines over the EU's Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, with the Socialists and Greens pushing for tougher amendments and the Liberal and European Conservatives and Reformists groups saying they want to scale back some of the proposals in the report prepared by the EPs rapporteur Jean-Paul Gauzès.
European Voice Open Europe research
FT Deutschland reports that both Italy and France have expressed reservations about the reappointment of Luxembourg's PM Jean-Claude Juncker as Head of the Eurogroup.
Eurointelligence
EU import duties for shoes from Vietnam and China will remain in place despite fierce protest from Lord Mandelson and British shoe retailers. The tariffs usually add an extra £1.60 to the cost of an imported pair of shoes, with annual duties costing UK retailers £330m.
Independent Times
Euractiv notes that a report from the World Health Organisation has said that the Lisbon Treaty furthers the scope for EU action in health policy, for example by introducing legally-binding legislation where it identifies safety concerns in public health.
Euractiv
EurActiv reports that business groups have 'slammed' national parliaments for their failure to fully implement the EU's Small Business Act. They argued that the EU institutions must put more pressure on member states to comply.
EurActiv
The IHT reports that yesterday the French government won €700 million of EU support for farmers suffering from sharp price drops during the economic downturn. Farmers will be able to claim up to €15,000 each.
No link
Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.
UK Government accused of caving in over proposals for single European financial regulator
EU finance ministers yesterday agreed to proposals for three new EU authorities with binding powers over national regulators to supervise the bloc's financial markets, amid growing fears that the new EU regulators will move key powers away from national supervisors and impinge on national fiscal sovereignty.
Several papers report that the UK Government gave in on some of the most controversial aspects of the proposal, including reversing the 'burden of proof' to justify actions in inevitable disputes over national sovereignty. Despite British objections, finance ministers agreed that in the event of a challenge over a decision made by the EU authorities, the complaining country must first get the support of a majority of Europe's 27 governments in order to block the EU's ruling, the Telegraph reports. The paper quotes an EU official saying, "The real concession is that burden of proof will rest with Britain, or the complainant country. It has to get a majority against the supervisor. It will not be a question of the supervisor having to get a majority to support it in a dispute with a national government. This tips the balance."
Qualified majority voting or simple majority voting will also apply along the decision-making chain, except following an appeal in cases where an 'emergency' has been called. However, this mechanism is only invoked when a crisis has been declared, meaning that in normal circumstances the European regulator can overrule national regulators. The existence of an emergency or a crisis will be decided by EU ministers through simple majority.
The Mail and This is Money quote Open Europe's Mats Persson saying, "The UK has lost out badly in the negotiations. The key thing is the UK can be outvoted at any time." Mark Hoban, the Conservatives' Shadow Treasury Minister is quoted in the Telegraph saying "Does the Government have a veto over any decisions made by the ESA [the new EU authorities] in an emergency that have a fiscal impact on Britain, or do they have to make an appeal against these decisions? This is another example of the Government failing to stick to its red lines." A lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna is quoted in the FT saying, "We should not agree to more Europe until there is a fundamental change in the way regulatory policy is made and deployed in the EU."
Alistair Darling insisted that he had secured "safeguards" ensuring that Britain would be able to appeal measures that it regarded as "impinging on the fiscal responsibilities of member states." The French press quotes French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde saying, "It's been a laborious process, but I think that today Europe has made real progress in banking and finance matters... We are in the process of creating a real European supervisor." The proposal will now be considered by the European Parliament, which has to agree before the proposal can become law. Criticising yesterday's decision, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe leader Guy Verhofstadt MEP accused the Council of "trying to impose its own views and its own agenda" and said the proposal didn't go far enough, according to Euractiv.
Meanwhile, the 'war on words' between France and the City of London continues, following Sarkozy's comments last week that the British were "the big losers" in the new European Commission given the appointment of Michel Barnier as Internal Market Commissioner. Angela Knight, the Chief Executive of the British Bankers Association said yesterday that "Monsieur Sarkozy must surely recognise that he has undermined the EU with his statements and put a question mark over the impartiality of his nominated commissioner that will not be easily dispelled." An article in Le Figaro notes that Sarkozy's comments may have undermined Barnier's position, by casting doubt on the impartiality of his appointment. The Mail reports that Nicolas Sarkozy has cancelled a meeting with Gordon Brown, originally planned for tomorrow, while the FT says the meeting will go ahead.
Le Figaro Independent: O'Grady Independent International Herald Tribune Mail 2 Times Mail: Leader Mail: Oborne Guardian: Elliott Times: Letters Conservative Home: Lea Times: Fraser Economist: Charlemagne's notebook Euobserver BBC EurActiv European Voice Telegraph Telegraph-Warner Telegraph-Reece This is Money Europaportalen FT FT2 Guardian
EU social laws will cost £71 billion over next decade
The Mail reports on Open Europe's recent briefing which showed that EU social laws, including health and safety rules, will cost the UK economy £71 billion over the next ten years, even in the unlikely scenario that the EU will not introduce any extra social legislation over that time period. The cost comes on top of the estimated £37 billion cost of European social legislation over the previous ten years - representing 25% of the total cost of regulation in the UK over that time period.
The article notes that earlier this week Conservative leader David Cameron pledged to cure the 'national neurosis' caused by Labour's expansion of health and safety rules, and quotes Open Europe saying, "David Cameron is absolutely right to push for a more common sense approach to social and health and safety laws. However, any meaningful effort to tackle overly prescriptive rules must focus overwhelmingly at the EU level for the simple reason that a clear majority of our laws in this area now stem from Brussels, and without any change the cost of these laws will continue to go up. In addition to renegotiating existing EU rules which are deemed unnecessary, a Conservative government must also commit to stemming the steady flow of new regulations coming from Brussels every year which impose unnecessary burdens on frontline public sector workers and businesses."
Mail Open Europe research
EU outlines police exchange scheme to create "common culture" of policing
The BBC reports that the EU is planning "student-style exchanges" for European police and judges as part of its new five year justice and home affairs blueprint, known as the Stockholm Programme. EU leaders are expected to approve the Stockholm Programme at a summit in Brussels next week. The funding arrangements and other details are yet to be worked out.
In its policy brief on the Stockholm Programme, the European Commission said that the EU should aim "to train one third of European police officers and border guards in European affairs over the next five years." Meanwhile, an informal group of home affairs ministers, the so-called Future Group, whose recommendations laid the foundations for the Stockholm Programme, said the EU should create a "common culture" of policing.
BBC Open Europe press release Open Europe research
Ashton: EU Foreign Minister role is "brand new...I inherited a blank piece of paper";
Lord Mandelson reveals that he would have liked to be EU Foreign Minister
The EU's newly appointed Foreign Minister, Baroness Catherine Ashton, appeared before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday for a question and answer session, before her official confirmation hearing in January. EUobserver reports that Lady Ashton often avoided giving any clear answers on foreign policy issues like the post-war situation in Georgia or the recognition of the newly elected president in Honduras. German Liberal MEP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff commented: "I do have to say we want more specific answers when you come back to us".
Lady Ashton said in her closing remarks: "This is brand new. I do not have an office, I do not have a Cabinet, I do not have a team. I inherited a blank piece of paper and at the moment I have written one or two small things on it." This is despite saying in the House of Lords, when she was responsible for guiding Lisbon through the House, that, "The proposal is that we have a high representative who becomes the vice-president of the Commission with very specific functions. That is a defined role within the treaty which is vested in one person."
Ashton added: "My office base will be in the Commission building. For two simple reasons: I know where the coffee is, and I know how that building functions, so I don't have to think about the logistics of that."
The Irish Times quotes her saying: "I won't pretend that I've got considered detailed views on everything because it was only last Thursday I discovered I was going to be doing this job and it's a day and a half in."
EurActiv reports that, when asked to comment by Lithuanian MEP Vytautas Landsbergis on the Nord Stream gas pipeline projected, Ashton left the impression that she was unaware of the fact that the pipeline was considered a pan-European project under the EU's 'Trans-European Networks' energy guidelines. Her performance caused an MEP from the Socialist grouping, Hannes Swoboda, to intervene and set the record straight.
A leader in Sueddeutsche Zeitung argues: "Ashton is still too weak to bolster EU foreign policy and to protect the EU external action service from going in the wrong direction."
Meanwhile, speaking to the BBC Today programme, Lord Mandelson revealed that he did want to become the EU's first Foreign Minister: "in other circumstances I would have liked to have done that job". He added that "it combines my interests in Europe and foreign affairs". He denied that President Sarkozy had blocked him from the job, adding: "Nobody blocked me, I'm afraid we didn't get to that happy stage."
EUobserver EurActiv International Herald Tribune Telegraph Guardian EP press release Irish Times FT Mail Times BBC Guardian Today programme OE blog
Javier Solana: EU External Action Service will have military as well as civilian personnel
In an interview with Le Monde, outgoing High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Javier Solana, defends the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton. Asked whether the new EU External Action Service, which he has previously described as "the world's biggest diplomatic service", will be complicated by rivalries between the Commission, the Parliament and the member states, Solana replies: "The service will be a new institution situated between the Commission and the Council. It will be made up of civil and military personnel." Asked about the priorities of the service, he says it will be interested first and foremost in neighbouring regions, in the Mediterranean, the East and Russia. However he adds: "It must also have in mind global action. We are not only an economic or trade organisation. I want, I hope, to put forward a political will to play a role in international affairs."
Asked if there is a growing gap between Europe and America over Afghanistan, Solana says: "I don't think that one can talk of a big gap with the United Sates: there are 30,000 Europeans deployed over there under the NATO umbrella. It is unfair to say that Europe's involvement is too modest."
Le Monde
Barnier pledges to interfere in EU Agriculture Commissioner's job
Euractiv reports that French Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier has said he will keep a close watch on the work of his colleagues in the European Commission, citing in particular the new Agriculture Commissioner, Romania's Dacian Cioloş. Barnier said: "He will be independent but I will give him my opinion," insisting on the need to "preserve farm regulations because feeding people is not a service like any other". The appointment of Dacian Cioloş, a Romanian who has claimed France is his "adoptive country," is seen as a victory for Paris, which supported his nomination.
Euractiv
French PM tries to designate 2 MPs to become 'ghost' MEPs
On his blog, Jean Quatremer reports that French Prime Minister François Fillon has asked the leader of the National Assembly to choose one MP from the ruling UMP party and one from the opposition Socialists to become MEPs, given that the Lisbon Treaty increases the number of French MEPs from 72 to 74. Quatremer notes that "the public authorities 'forgot' to alert voters" to the fact that under Lisbon they would get two extra MEPs when they went to the polls for the European Parliament elections in June. He says that, unlike the majority of other countries, France did not work out a method for determining which French regions would benefit from the extra 2 MEPs, hence the decision to pluck two deputies from the National Assembly.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Deputy Leader of the Green group in the European Parliament, has attacked the decision as a "stitch-up" between the UMP and the Socialist Party, while British Lib Dem MEP Andrew Duff has said that the move is against the 1976 rules on the election of MEPs, which rule out designating MEPs from national parliaments. EurActiv reports that French Green MEP Sandrine Bélier criticised the plan saying, "It is a democratic aberration...How will these new MEPs be chosen? For their merit or because they are useless at the National Assembly?"
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog notes that, because Germany stands to lose 3 MEPs under the Lisbon arrangements, and since it is difficult to 'deselect' MEPs that have already been elected, Germany will keep all its MEPs until June 2014, meaning the total number of MEPs will be 754 instead of the 751 envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty. Quatremer notes that, just to complicate things further, the decision to have more MEPs than envisaged by Lisbon requires a change to treaties and therefore must be ratified by all 27 member state parliaments. In December, EU leaders decided to add an ad hoc annex to the next accession Treaty, which will say that the new MPs cannot sit until 2012. In the meantime, the 'ghost' MEPs will have 'observer' status but will not be able to vote.
Meanwhile, EurActiv reports that the additional 'ghost' MEP for the UK has still not been decided, but sources indicate that the extra seat will go to the West Midlands region, meaning Conservative candidate Anthea McIntyre would be appointed. However, EP sources indicated yesterday that a row could still break out, because Scotland and London are seeking an exception to the existing rules so that their region would receive the new MEP.
Coulisses de Bruxelles EurActiv
Conservatives see donations surge from the City as concern grows over EU financial regulation
The FT reports that the Conservatives claim that the party has received a boost in donations following the Government's poor response to the slew of proposals for more regulation and supervision coming out of Brussels, which has been reinforced by the poor handling of the European Commission appointments. "There may have been from time to time issues [of Conservative policy] that some people felt uncomfortable about ... but the City is so appalled by the government now that they just want these people out," said Richard Spring, a Conservative MP, according to the FT.
FT
New report: EU's biofuels policy "borders on economic madness"
PA reports that a new report from the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) has found that the EU is subsidising the biofuels industry to the tune of €4bn. The report's author Fredrik Erixon said, "Europe's biofuels policy borders to economic madness. It is costly and protectionist. It is designed to support European farmers rather than to shift Europe's energy consumption away from fossil fuels".
ECIPE report Open Europe research
Tim Montgomerie: Cameron's rating fell after he announced his new Europe policy
A survey of UK voters for Politics Home shows that David Cameron's approval rating fell from +36 on 18 September to +21 on 27 November. On Conservative Home, Tim Montgomerie notes that the fall in Cameron's rating coincided with his announcement that a Conservative government would not hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Conservative Home: Montgomerie Politics Home
Swedish unions ordered to pay damages after blockade against foreign EU workers
Swedish unions have been ordered to pay around €55,000 in damages to Latvian construction company Laval, a Swedish court has ruled, following a decision two years ago by the ECJ that the Swedish unions were breaking EU law when they engaged in a blockade against the Latvian firm which was refurbishing a school outside Stockholm, Sweden. The Swedish unions claimed that Laval undercut local wages, but the ECJ ruled that the unions' demands were arbitrary and the strike therefore illegal.
Europaportalen Open Europe research
Nato foreign ministers are meeting today in Brussels to discuss Afghanistan, amid calls for Nato allies to pledge more than 5,000 additional troops, following President Obama's commitment for 30,000 more troops next year. Several members, including France and Germany, are thought to be reluctant to do so.
EUobserver BBC Sun
The FT Deutschland has a leader with the title "Punish Greece!" arguing that "Greek governments have disregarded the EU stability pact for years and thereby endanger Monetary Union. Because of that, harder punishments are now needed."
FTD: Leader FT WSJ
In an interview with LabourList former Europe Minister Caroline Flint comments: "One thing I became really aware of when I became Europe minister is that we have had a constant change of ministers in that role; what are we up to now, 12, 13? We've had two even since I resigned. I don't think that constant change is helpful."
Labour List
After a 'conciliation' agreement between the European Council and the European Parliament, the total 2010 EU budget has been set at €141.453 billion in commitments and €122.937 billion in payments.
EP press release
European Voice reports that MEPs are split along party lines over the EU's Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, with the Socialists and Greens pushing for tougher amendments and the Liberal and European Conservatives and Reformists groups saying they want to scale back some of the proposals in the report prepared by the EPs rapporteur Jean-Paul Gauzès.
European Voice Open Europe research
FT Deutschland reports that both Italy and France have expressed reservations about the reappointment of Luxembourg's PM Jean-Claude Juncker as Head of the Eurogroup.
Eurointelligence
EU import duties for shoes from Vietnam and China will remain in place despite fierce protest from Lord Mandelson and British shoe retailers. The tariffs usually add an extra £1.60 to the cost of an imported pair of shoes, with annual duties costing UK retailers £330m.
Independent Times
Euractiv notes that a report from the World Health Organisation has said that the Lisbon Treaty furthers the scope for EU action in health policy, for example by introducing legally-binding legislation where it identifies safety concerns in public health.
Euractiv
EurActiv reports that business groups have 'slammed' national parliaments for their failure to fully implement the EU's Small Business Act. They argued that the EU institutions must put more pressure on member states to comply.
EurActiv
The IHT reports that yesterday the French government won €700 million of EU support for farmers suffering from sharp price drops during the economic downturn. Farmers will be able to claim up to €15,000 each.
No link
Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.
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