Mr. Bean Goes to Brussels

Zapatero the hugely irrelevant is looking for new and interesting ways to use the 6 months that his government will “run Europe” for what that line is worth.

Practically, Madrid's overarching challenge will be dealing with the economic crisis. The European Commission will next year present a proposal for a 10 year strategy to bring the bloc to 2020, which it hopes to have a preliminary agreement on by a March meeting of EU leaders.

Something he has a proven track record in the rousingly reassuring state of economic rebound visible in Spain. One, which puts him in a position to pressure the leadership having the most contact with the ECB, to consider a bailout of the “PIGS”: Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain – another reason to short the Euro-Zloty for the next six months and invest in Norwegian bellwether and Poland as a whole.

Why lead when your term can be used for peevish personal politicking?

The treaty leaves plenty of scope for potential turf wars: Spain has said that it would like to host the EU-US and Latin America summits, in a move that will propel Mr Zapatero into the global spotlight alongside Mr Rompuy. The possibility of having Barack Obama on Spanish soil for a summit is already sparking protocol speculation, such as who will be the first to shake the US leader's hand.

Just imagine the stage being set for that “latin American summit” making President Obama the apparent equal of Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Castro II, and the like. In looking rather closely at Zapatero, the only distinction I can find is that he appears to not wear a uniform or theatrical native garb, and probably has table manners.

¡ Но пасаран !

As ideological signifiers, all Zappo would need is a moustache and military un-dress uniform that looks like it came from a Hamburg fetish discount supply shop to pull of the same sales schtick in the long-looked-down-upon post rebellion “colonies”. One can’t help but picture a sort of Army Surplus Store of stale European ideas, but the irony is that in Europe, one needs no such signifiers anymore. With no drama being required, there are enough people who vote who take post-modern tripe at face value that one need not start dressing like an extra from an early Mel Brooks picture.

Ils se Sont Tiré Dans le Pied

Half of the arrogance of the Donkey Show is founded in ignorance. While the lauding of the health care provided outside of the US has diminished with a growing number of people who are familiar with alternate international systems speak up, the delusions are still there. Leftists want “what they have in ___” or more to the point, what Leftists THINK they have in ____, when in fact most western European governments have spent a politically agonizing decade privatizing medicine in spite of their domestic Marxist-Leninist leaning loonies in order to improve the quality and availability of the care.

The American Thinker has the run-down.

Orbitting EUranus Looking for Klingons

From the EU’s internal propaganda arm, it’s provisional wing in the war to be transnationally loved for no good reason, we get to discover many light and meaningless facts, though ones that undergird a rather vile world view.

The word Europe comes from Ancient Greek and means "wide-gazing"

Along with Europe this and Europe that that subtly obscures the definitions of Europe and the EU, until finally we come to:

The longest river in Europe is the Volga in Russia

Which is no different than some tourism promotion branch of the US government calling one’s attention to the natural wonders of the Canadian Rockies or the Sonora desert in Mexico.

Which, by the way, has forced me to have to politely suffer through dozens of tirades about the use of the word “American,” hoping that the crazies would get tired and wobble to the other end of what they think is a bar.

As Revealing as a Barium Enema

The perpetual rigamarole surrounding the formation of the EU over the past 4 decades is rather more revealing of the state of the European political mind than one thinks. It’s an accounting of unredacted reactions, expressions of instincts, and the willingness to live with broad, warm-sounding feelings of communatarianism that wants to magnify it’s power around the world for no reason, while all the parties act like they want to take their ball, leave the sandbox, and go home.

Any detailed account of EU history reads like an endless list of failures, dissapointments, backtracking, non-compliance with commitments, unfulfilled expectations, hard bargaining, dull and unimpressive bureacrats, selfish national leaders, egoistic states, ever-growing scepticism, blatant behaviour of large member states, a ridiculous common agricultural policy, etc ., etc.

What I’m waiting for is the kind of commitment to “something-hood” (one cannot speak of nationhood, or cartel-hood for that matter), that, to a sufficient degree of confidence, will permit them to dismantle their 27 Embassies in every major capitol in the outside world in favor of a consolidated entity, ceding 26 of their UN General assembly seats, and one of their two UNSC seats, and live with the world in a way that the rest of the world must, and matches their own vision of the monoculturalism that they take to be inherent in any other national government on earth.

And what of the dull bureacrats? The European Commission has had 11 presidents since 1958. But who remembers presidents Rey, Malfatti, Ortoli or Thorn? You might remember Santer, but for the wrong reasons. Hallstein and Jenkins are somewhere in the back of the mind, but far from being household names. And only Delors looks impressive, but then many will tell you that he was appointed precisely because no one thought at the time he was a visionary.

And still the EU is somehow considered a big success. The truth is that the EU has almost always been an institution of dull bureaucrats pushing for incremental measures that mostly fail, and those that become successes are acknowledged as such only ten years later.

From without, the only reaction is “big deal”. Far from being a denouement of human advancement and the superiority of impotently wishing for good in the world, it’s a mere sign of incremental evolution from being a culture at war with itself and the rest of humanity for a millennium, an exporter of the most murderous ideas, especially that of the subservience of the man before the power of the state, only to construct an increasingly undemocratic super-state that takes the power people can have over their lives further away from them into a vague multi-lingual babble where one never knows what is getting lost in translation.

The only question at this point is “how long do the children have to be kept being told that they’re making history?” and “how long does Nana have to say they’re special?”

It Causes Earthquakes Too?

From the opening ceremony's video of a little girl running from an earthquake to the promises of emissions reductions, everything taking place in Copenhagen is contrived. The outcome of climate talks -- no treaty, no emissions reductions -- was known in advance. And yet participants pretend there is an unfolding drama. As such, Copenhagen is history's first completely postmodern global event. It's a festival of phoniness. With the ambitions of Versailles but the power of Davos, Copenhagen creates a cognitive dissonance for its creators, which results in ever-more manic displays of apocalypse anxiety and false hope. In the end, Copenhagen tells us more about ourselves -- our post-American world, our fragmented media environment, and our hyper-partisanship -- than about any attempt to slow global warming.

- Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus
of the Breakthrough Institute

And further in a paean to the bobo-ism that typifies academia, the European world view, and a moderate-seeming resolution to the impotent rage of “our betters”:

In this, Copenhagen represents the first truly postmodern global event in human history. Other generations had Versailles, Yalta, Bretton-Woods -- agreements that re-organized nation states and shaped the modern world. We, by contrast, have Copenhagen, which has no power to do anything. In reality, Copenhagen is no more effectual than the made for media confabs like Davos. But the United Nations, multinational green groups, and sympathetic reporters have succeeded in creating the impression of action where there is, in fact, none at all.

Don’t be surprised if they DON’T understand that what they want will result in the enlargement of the poverty gap, and thanks to the “science” that they will take to be “better than nothing”, founded on nothing. Absolutely nothing, as there is no objective proof that man can passively alter the temperature of the world’s atmosphere, let alone hack nature out of it’s own patterns and force it to refrigerate itself.

But “correction” of anything real is not the purpose, given this unaddressed trend that continues today:

Between 2000 and 2005, European emissions grew twice as fast as America’s. Emissions in Canada grew a whopping five times faster. Since 1990, Germany and Britain reduced their emissions, but they did so for prior reasons having nothing to do with global warming: Margaret Thatcher broke the coal miners’ union in the early 1980s, moving Britain to cleaner-burning natural gas, and the East German economy collapsed after the fall of communism, reducing a reunified Germany’s reliance on dirty coal plants. When you remove these two from the calculation, European emissions rose almost 12 percent between 1990 and 2005.

I hope this puts the anger, the lectures, the vile harangues, and the looks askance in some kind or perspective, one that’s doesn’t set out to scare children or convince an otherwise able population to believe that Global Warming caused a tsunami or an earthquake.

Goodnight, Copanhagen. Like the response to the name “Kyoto”, as a city you are now just another place linked to a massive fraud, and possibly the most oppressive limitation placed on the human potential of the poor humanity ever imposed on itself.

The Purple Helmets of Peace Strike Again

Same as it ever was. UN backed troops, taking the place of professional soldiers doing peacekeeping, have been engaging in the kind of rampage that has come to be associated with the words “U.N.” and “Peacekeeping”. As usual, they weren’t just massacring civilians, they were more interested in getting a piece.

More than 7,500 cases of sexual violence against women and girls were registered at health centers during that nine-month period, nearly double that of 2008 and likely representing only a fraction of the total.

Human Rights Watch said that the 19,000 peacekeepers in Congo — the biggest U.N. force in the world — must "immediately cease all support to the current military operation" until it can ensure there are no violations of international humanitarian law. The group also called for the U.N. to find "a new approach to protect civilians."

In other words, something a little more like those awful Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a little less like those lionized by bobs as “doing God’s work.”

Is there any reason to be surprised? Hell no! That was all just oh-so last year! The force in question is composed as it is because of a failed Europeans commitment where the world was supposed to thank them for the fine conference accommodations where the press conference took place, but expect nothing in the way of peacekeeping troops in their former colonies:

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said ministers would discuss Mr Ban's appeal, but added: "Let me also underline that the situation on the ground is getting slightly better, and politically also."

But non-governmental organisations poured scorn on any suggestion things in eastern DR Congo were improving, saying rape, murder and pillage was still rife in the region.

'Situation is dramatic'

The 27-nation EU has so far been reluctant to commit forces to the Congo to back a 17,000-strong UN force, Monuc, already on the ground.

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said before the discussions: "It will take four to six months before the additional troops for Monuc will arrive and the humanitarian situation is dramatic over there."

Belgium has been the most outspoken European country in appealing for help for DR Congo, its former colony.

Again, they closed their eyes and wished for peace, so (again) they should not be surprised as what that gave them. Speaking in 2008 on the subject on behalf of this “peacey-peacey superpower of lurrrrve”, Sarko said:

“You can't be everywhere all the time,”

Or in France’s case, failing to support a force to the point where it really can’t effectively be anywhere.

Allô, Coucou

Do please define often, would you old chap?

The language Esperanto is often used to access an international culture,

...

Every year, hundreds of new titles are published in Esperanto along with music. Also, many Esperanto newspapers and magazines exist.

Today would be the 150th birthday of the inventor of Esperanto, an language promoted by the former Marxist-Leninist communist states where hardly a soul learned it, and present day Marxists, who for the same reasons think that it makes sense to homogenize humanity into a single servile monoculture speaking an indistinct babble aggregated entirely of European languages. A lot like EU legislative proceedings if you ask me.

Europeans, being the only meaningful people in earth say a great coming together in that idea of forcing this language on the rest of humanity.

It’s all part of the loving and caring thing, which is honky-dorey, so long as they run the show. It explains the lack of support the Maoists gave them who could indeed smell cultural colonialism from that far away.

Kiss the Archbishop's Tree Ring

Step aside, Saint Augustine. There’s a new religion in town, and you’re all doomed to irredeemable guilt. Forever.

US supporters of a strong climate deal in Copenhagen on Saturday lit candles and erected a mock Noah's Ark in Washington, warning leaders that the planet faced a crisis of biblical proportions.

The rally in view of the US Capitol was the culmination of a day of demonstrations around the world including in the Danish capital where tens of thousands took to the streets near the venue of the 194-nation summit.

Another ‘official day of rage’ if you will, which is exactly what you need if you’re founding a civilization-killing concept on a philosophical-sounding notion that has no objective scientific proof, nor an actual philosophy. It’s theology without all that theo stuff which aligns rather oddly with some way serious haters, also begging for an apocalypse to come along and prove them right.

The United States is the only industrial power to shun the current Kyoto Protocol, but Obama has pledged to work with other nations on drafting future action against climate change.

No, the United States is one of the only nations that doesn’t regularly signs things and then promptly weasel or ignore the commitment.

Better Living Through Arson

“Passionate” Environaughts in København are doing their bit to “save the planet” by vandalizing property and having carbeques.

We’re still waiting for the Carbon Liberation Movement to claim responsibility. Clean and Green, Spic and Span, La-dee-da-dee-dah

They Doth Fling Pooh from a Gilded Cage

First, let me quote Whittaker Chambers:

The revolutionary heart of Communism is not the theatrical appeal: "Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains. You have a world to gain." It is a simple statement of Karl Marx, further simplified for handy use: "Philosophers have explained the world; it is necessary to change the world." Communists are bound together by no secret oath. The tie that binds them across the frontiers of nations, across barriers of language and differences of class and education, in defiance of religion, morality, truth, law, honor, the weaknesses of the body and the irresolutions of the mind, even unto death, is a simple conviction: It is necessary to change the world.

But that’s neither here nor there, because the saintly attendies to the COP15 poverty and medievalism confab are themselves no Sistertian monks, charmers, or even humanistic stewards of the precious kidlets in whose name they want the rest of us to commit eco-cide. Andrew Bolt notes that at the miracle of the loaves and fishes in Copenhagen, the suffering weight of abundance weighs down many a soul attending.

”We haven’t got enough limos in the country to fulfil the demand,” she says. “We’re having to drive them in hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden.”
And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among that number? “Five,” says Ms Jorgensen…

Which means that their number of electro-pods and Toyota Piouses is wildly outnumbered by the people living on my block – ONE SIDE OF IT, in fact.

Buoyed by common agit-prop cum Klimantenschmutz of course:



“Can you smell that, son? Can you smell the mendacity?”

Remember Kids, Daddy Drinks Because you Cry

Pravda makes beeg trouble for Correct-thinking Cadre

And we quote:

Now that the Czech Republic has announced it will ratify the Lisbon Treaty, the EU will be even closer yet to becoming a unified monster state, with more than half a billion inhabitants. Inhabitants is the correct term, since “citizens” would indicate a set of political rights. The people living in the EU should rather be called “subjects,” since they have no influence whatsoever on the constitution of the centralized European government, the “European Commission.” The Europeans are allowed to vote for members of the European Parliament, but this body has about as much political power as the ineffectual German parliament meeting at Frankfurt in 1848. Political power in the EU is firmly in the hands of the European Commission, which is set to obtain even more power under the Lisbon Treaty. This infamous treaty does not hold the peoples of Europe in high regard. As a matter of fact, it is only halfway through the treaty (originally presented as a “Constitution”) that one finds the first references to the people.

Under your newly imposed constitutional privileges, you are permitted to register your surprise so long as I still feel like it.

Have a nice day.

Not nearly as Schlau as they Look

Germans, despite the official declaration, remain entranced with that Obama magic that never existed to begin with. So much so, that they’re searching feverishly to find new and politically acceptable ways to abandon the Afghans to the control of a minority of violent Jihadists. You know the type: the brown-red European politi-bots refer to them as being the whole of the Afghan population.

Observing Hermann, being an all-around Klug kind of dude, notes:

No pressure here, time or otherwise. Before not committing any new troops to Afghanistan, Germany wants to take all the time it needs to say no more thoroughly and convincingly and much, much later (around February or so). And why not take your time? They’re in the best of company here.

Interesting new way of making friends, that is.

In other words, “no”, like I said. Westerwelle did indicate that Germany is prepared to increase police trainers in Afghanistan, however. That German police training in Afghanistan has been a catastrophe up until now is another question altogether, but still.

“thuggish petro-state” makes beeg trouble for Correct-thinking Cadre

By which Monboit means Canada. Monboit, sure of his central position in all of human perception says:

Canada's image lies in tatters.

Regardless that that is only Canada’s image to HIM. Puzzlingly, his editors still refer to him as a journalist.

The Film Festival Continues

“Is everybody in this world corrupt?”

“I don’t know everybody.”

The N-P silver screen meltdown marches ever forward in something familiar to European political observers, that is to say in goose steps. We present Billy Wilder’s 1961 madcap tale of Commie Berlinalia called One, Two, Three, which also happened to star Jimmy Cagney who brilliantly shows his comic timing and skill, even as Wilder turned the pace of the film up to 11.

Oddly enough, one of the many things that points out the humorlessness of “progressive” activist to this day is the fact that some of them still campaign cheerlessly and sadly unaware of irony against “Coca-Cola Imperialism”, as if their own not drinking the stuff wasn’t enough. I wonder if they realize that the concept was just one of Wilder’s jokes.



I strongly recommend renting or downloading this film! Not only will you not know where the time went, and possibly regret it, but you’ll find strange hidden gems in it, like a Messerschmitt micro-car that keeps appearing in the background, and momentary references to Carney’s “Little Caesar” character by an untitled supporting actor playing to Cagney, and another play on it with him asking for “Rico”. Along the way, look for a Khruchevesque banging of the shoe on a table, and a chillingly accurate portrait of the shambolic ruin that was East Berlin long AFTER this film was shot.