Gluestick
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Posts posted by Gluestick
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[quote user="EuroTrash"]"the wealthier and more successful economies will always be expected to either bail out the basket cases or will be economically handicapped by their membership of a flawed mechanism"I wonder to what extent the use of the word "expected" reflects a very British view? It suggests we can all take it for granted that no country would ever WANT to bail out another country for "the greater good". But, as has been pointed out by several EU members, that is what the EU is all about, just Britain never did embrace the EU ideal. Time will tell whether or not the other states believe in this ideal strongly enough to pull through.If you marry a person, do you spend your married life bickering about which of you is putting more into the marriage and which of you is getting most out, or do you put that aside and focus on making the marriage work?[/quote]Sorry ET; illogical syllogism and conflates two disparate exemplars.The key to this is fiscal profligacy. Greece, for example, welcomed EU funding and then the insanity of Sovereign Risk borrowing, to rapidly inflate its social spending. Greece was importing more Mercs, BMWs and Porsches than almost any other EU state.Furthermore, Greece, Italy, Portugal et al didn't just breech the Fiscal Compact they wholly ignored it! So much so that since most other Eurozone states were doing precisely the same, the fiscal compact rules had to re-written. And they were still ignored.Charity and aid must not be confused with kindness and/or myopic do-gooding.Dare I mention Camila Batmanghdelijh?See Here:If a marriage partner behaved in a similar profligate manner, then it would be off to a good Psycho- Therapist, or the divorce court, in most cases. Or failing those, the Bankruptcy CourtBritain and obviously the USA (Marshall Aid Plan) bailed out Germany post-WWII. The IMF has been effectively, bailing out problem economies, short-term, for many years.Britain has been bailing our bankrupt ex-commonwealth states for many years; whilst the funds somehow made their way to the Swiss bank accounts of wholly corrupt leaders. Mugabi being a prime example.Bailing out and being conned are two mutually exclusive actions.
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[quote user="Hoddy"]"supremely white British doctors"I know this is trivial compared to most of the discussion here but I feel I have to point out that not all British doctors are white.Only last week I walked into the doctors to be greeted by a cheery, "Hello, Miss," from a former pupil who is not supremely white, but is British born and British educated.[/quote]I don't take this as a trivial matter either, Hoddy.The core immigration problem has been mainly exacerbated by Blair and his coterie of "gypsies, rogues and thieves" in deciding upon a covert social engineering project (Whistle-Blown by Andrew Neather - one of the planners) to decimate the right wing vote for all time, by "Rubbing the Right's face in diversity!"; and not just allowing but encouraging immigration from Third World nations, of people who were unqualified, ill-educated and spoke no or little English.The Prince of Darkness, AKA the oleaginous weasel Mandelson, freely admitted, post even, the NuLab government had been actively trawling and canvassing the third world for immigrants!See Here:See here:The influx of Eastern EU migrants has simply added fuel to the fire.My last two GPs before my present Doc were both Indian; and the original GP was our family doctor for thirty years and the very best in terms of skill, knowledge and gentle caring concern.Perhaps the pièce de résistance was Gordon Brown's statement, reference building the Olympic village in Stratford, East London, "British jobs for British workers!", when it was later revealed circa 90% of these "British" workers were Eastern Europeans!Manna from heaven for the fire of the Far Right loonies.
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And people still want to stay in this corrupt crumbling institution?See here:
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Bearing in mind, Wooly, it was in a leading economics publication; and to enjoy gravitas, such tomes are not noted for simplicity. Neither are economists...BTW: Found some leeks now; had leek and 'tata soup for lunch and it was splendid.Mainly since it, well, tasted leeky!P.S. We used to make Leak and Potato Soup.No good as it dripped out of the soup lug.[Www]
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Sorry to rain on your parade, Paul...Last trip (back one week) our local little company charged 58 Cents per litre, plus naturally, the dreaded TVA.....livraison inclusive..69368 centimes/Litre. Date 08-10-16[:P]
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Here's an analysis I wrote and published in response to a topic back in 2010.(n.b. Not for Wooly, sadly, as far too many complicated words! [:P] [:D] )"The covert problem with the Euro is very simple: predicating a currency system on such disparate economies and fiscal disparities, means simply the wealthier and more successful economies will always be expected to either bail out the basket cases or will be economically handicapped by their membership of a flawed mechanism.Germany is already suffering fiscally from the ingestion of East Germany and the state's adoption of a raft of fiscal and financial obligations: worse, Germany is the locomotive economy of the Eurozone, with vast global earnings from industrial export driven activity.The Euro was allowed by the ECB to become over-hard: thus handicapping German manufacturing exporters yet further. The premise was a hard Euro represented success: whereas the flight to Euro-denominated security was a reaction to exchange risk exposure in failing reserve currency, mainly the US Dollar: thus the effective cross-value of the Euro was predicated on external drivers, not intended policy or true fiat valuation.The Sovereign Loan area is already under the global capital market's microscope as increasingly unstable: the bond market is fragile as never before.Waiting in the wings are Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and potentially, Slovakia and Slovenia: where all are over-leveraged and all have been spending and borrowing far too much.Thus this is a systemic Sovereign Risk problem endemic to the Eurozone. It is not just A Grecian hiccup.How long will major successful state's manufacturing exporters and voters be prepared to accept being penalised for other's profligate fiscal incompetence? Not long I suggest, as such does not play well come election day!
Presently, the Great and the Good are assuring us exactly why the
Euro cannot fail: I would cynically comment the same applied right up to the collapse of the Dot Com Bubble; the Wall Street Crash and the ERM back in 1992." -
Leek and Potato soup for dejeuner: and it.....tasted of LEEK!These (Lidl) came from Cambrideshire.[:D]
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[quote user="idun"]I have no idea why the EU extended itself so much. I often wonder about it. For no good reason that I can think of it took on dirt poor eastern european countries. Poverty, it took on terrible poverty and that it is getting worse, sadly does not surprise me.And then just to add to the mix, took countries into the € that were not running their budgets properly either, or at least a lot worse than others were.None of it makes sense apart from some vagueness of power and expansionism and if it all lasts another 30 years, or maybe 50, I might be shocked if I last that long, which is rather doubtful![/quote]It cannot enjoy a continuum, as is, for even five years, Idun.As more and more analysts and even a leading German economist (At the Bundesebank no less) recently has stated, the concept of the Euro and its major flaw, was that it is simply a monetary recipe for shovelling capital from the successful stable Western economies, to the failed banana republic Southern economies.Since the German taxpayer and voter picks up the lion's share of the tab for this (particularly the forward guarantees and warranties), at the cost of a reduced standard of living, due to increasing taxes; then one is compelled to pose the question; how long will they put up with this??Not much longer must be the pragmatic response.
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Agree about le petit Nicolas, IdunI well remember when he was Interior Minister, he grandly stated he was going to "Hose the scum into the gutters with water cannon!"And did nothing...And then promised "After I am elected I shall achieve the following (long list of critical problems), within 100 DAYS!"And, naturally, didn't achieve even one!Perhaps the most salient moment of this nasty little midget's Presidency was when his wife, the odious wannabe a singer Carla Bruni, pranced into the assembly room when a serious meeting in the Elysé and proudly presented all present with a copy of her new CD album!I shuddered when I read this.Mainly since in World diplomatic affairs, the Republic of France has always been noted for style, formality and its esteemed grasp on protocol... (One of the many aspects of la belle France which I adore and much respect.(Thinking here of Call Me Dave et al appearing in public with no tie)Receptions at embassies have also been valued as representing the very best in French cultural heritage.Yet Ms Bruni, no doubt, believed she was auditioning for a "Hello!" photoshoot, perhaps?Yuk and double yuk![:@]
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Agree wholly about le petit Nicolas: a very dodgy bloke.But then again, aren't they all it would seem?Including the tangerine-faced chief of the IMF...I fear Madame Lagarde will soon be getting her comeuppance; in spades.
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I didn't know that one, Pierre.A neighbour, a very hard working young man and his wife (the daughter of the largest local farmer and ex-maire) run a huge and rapidly expanding bio-seedling nursery and this would usually be my first call.Since he only next door but one........So I was told, Welsh miners, who of course were famed for their leeks, used to nick the odd stick or two of blasting gelignite - particularly when it started to sweat! - and would dump these in a galvanised bucket of rainwater and hide away in the little hut on their allotment.Loads of Nitrogen ideal for green veggies.Not uncommon for huts to explode at odd hours...[:'(]
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Does the French voter have such a short term memory?
Prime Minister (1995–1997)
Because he supported Jacques Chirac against Edouard Balladur during the 1995 presidential campaign,
he succeeded him as Prime Minister, also becoming president of the RPR. Jacques Chirac claimed Alain Juppé was "the best among us".However, in November/December 1995, his plan for Welfare State reform caused the biggest social conflict since May 68 and, under duress, abandoned it. He became the most unpopular Prime minister of the Fifth Republic (challenged only by Édith Cresson). In spring 1997, President Chirac dissolved the National Assembly but lost the legislative election.And:Criminal conviction (1999–2006)
In
2004, Alain Juppé was tried for the felony of abuse of public funds, when he was head of the RPR and the RPR illegally used personnel provided by the City of Paris for running its operations. He was convicted and sentenced to an 18-month suspended jail sentence, the deprivation of civic rights for five years, and the deprivation of the right to run for political office for 10 years. He appealed the decision, whereupon his disqualification from holding elected office was reduced to one year and the suspended sentence cut to 14 months. He announced he would not appeal the ruling before the Court of Cassation. (See Corruption scandals in the Paris region)As a consequence, Alain Juppé resigned his mayorship of Bordeaux and his position of head of the Bordeaux urban community.
The very patrician politician, Domenique de Villepin, another Chirac protégé crashed and burned after trying to reform the social contract. Tried a comeback in 2010 and failed, dismally.Surely, Juppé is no different? -
[quote user="idun"]Did you make pomme puree or mash??? I am rather fond of a pomme puree with fish.[/quote]Just our normal mashed potatoes: a good dollop of Beurre de Brettan, full cream milk and always reserve some of the water and add it back to add the starch and body.
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[quote user="mint"]Gluey, I guess you mean épinard?[:)][/quote]Yes indeed, Mint, I did.It was late and I was tired and ready for my cosy little bed.[:D]
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[quote user="idun"]Yes, I have noticed that too. Carrots recently have been lovely though, very sweet and carroty![/quote]Totally agree about the carrots, Idun.The organic variety from Aldi store in our little Canton town have been excellent.I love carrots when they are fresh and sweet.Yummy.
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[quote user="Loiseau"]I usually include one onion in my leek and potato soup, to give the flavour a boost.Did your fresh leeks have that all-pervading leek smell when you bought them? If not, maybe that indicates they were an "improved" variety that lacks both smell and taste.Angela[/quote]Not a very leeky smell, Angela.Still, yesterday, Mrs G popped into Lidl for some necessary comestibles and spotted fresh leeks for £1 (Chavda were nearly £3!); and is busy as I write making a fresh daffy of Leek and Potato soup, so fingers crossed... I munched a little of the fresh cut leek and it tasted excellent.P.S. We also always include one onion.
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Most interesting analysis here:The most significant point is the data emerges from Eurostat, the official statistical reporting body of the EU itself.Thus even Norman cannot dismiss this as Neo-Con propaganda...
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Our local Carrefour fish counter had good supplies of Carrelet filets on promo.Two good sized filets per person is ideal.Roll the filets; cook in the microwave in a shallow dish covered in clingfilm pierced a little to let the steam escape, liberally covered in Bechemel Sauce.Do not overcook, as plaice is delicate fish!Serve with smooth creamed pomme de terre; and, in our case, epinage creamed with crême fraiche. (Frozen, source Aldi - cheap as frites!).Yummy!A nice cool Loire white washes it down rather well...
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Has anyone else noticed, whilst Poireau are an autumn harvested legume (in theory), the damned things utterly lack any real "leek" flavour, this year.Mrs Gluey and I purchased these from both Aldi (whose leeks are usually good and fresh) and then from Carrefour at greater cost.No leek flavour.Just returned from a 3 week sojourn in la belle and in the North it was rather cold; therefore after working in the garden etc, a nice warming bowl of leek and potato is usually just the job and hits the spot rather well.Not this time around; it was dire...
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[quote user="NormanH"]Civitas is a neo-liberal non- think tank, so I would ignore its propaganda.[/quote]So are:IMF: World Bank: OECD: UN; anything funded by Soros et al.Do we ignore all cogent analysis and dismiss these as "Propaganda"?Or bother to analyse the output and drill down into it in order to provide valuable critique?Clearly, Norman, it is an non- disputable fact, the EU states export far more to the UK than the reverse.Or is this too a Neo-Con, Neo-Liberal, or other biased presumption, or worse, myth?
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Interesting analysis released to day by Civitas.See Here:Well, we already knew according to ONS (UK's Office of National Stats) that in the three months running up to the referendum vote, exports to Britain from other EU states were £23.8 billion more than UK exports to EU states...A moment perhaps for all the sabre rattling hard-liners which include Tusk, Jean Claude the Boozer and not forgetting the myopic Hollande and the delusional Mutti Merkel to think again?
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Walloons I believe, Mint.See here:
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Pragmatically, Norman, it is a pretty good manifesto.Practically, though, much of it would prove impossible to drive through, owing to serious objections from external agencies such as UN et al.My own hope is that Marine emulates Jean Marie, when he ruffled Chirac's feathers...The French political class and bureaucratic inertia and complacence urgently require a damned good shake up, so a last minute scare might achieve again what it achieved with Chirac.
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[quote user="woolybanana"]Gluey, as regards the banks, yes, I agree that the City has skewed out economy for a long time but what can we do but keep things as they are, given that out industrial base in not strong and we have neglected to rebuild as we might. [/quote]We cannot allow British based - mainly foreign owned! - banks to continue as they are.Since Thatcher repealed the Exchange Control Act of 1948, early on in 1979, capital has flooded out of the UK...[quote]For Bobo's sake, we even sell our best FOOTSIE technology companies to the Japanese and others.[/quote]Indeed, particularly, Dr Mike Lynch's Alchemy and Herman Hauser's ARM Holdings. Disgusting; ought never ever to have been allowed.[quote] And, the housing market has taken too big a slice out of the economic cake. Too many of the middle classes are property millionaires, riding the bubble of shortage and not seeking to invest in development.[/quote]Agree wholly.When I last checked for an article I was writing on the UK economy in circa 2004, the ONS Annual Wealth of GB survey recorded that residential property had reached the dizzy and insane level of representing circa 66% of the TOTAL capital value of GB plc. i.e. including docks, roads, factories, government buildings, all commercial property, airports etc.Utter insanity.Indeed, in order to finance the last Boom-Bust of NuLab property bubble, since there was little or no indigenous capital (Britain has failed to add fresh new capital since about 1960), in order to finance this last insanity, all the capital had to be imported via the global Interbank Market; leading to what a then relatively sane Peston called a "Capital Overhang".[quote]UK needs to relearn how to design, develop, build and export stuff, as well as limiting imports where possible - eg food..New technology companies are the future, but we should also be selling planes, trains and even drains to the rest of the world.[/quote]Couldn't agree more! You are singing from my own hymn sheet, old mate! I have been beating this drum now for more than 30 years!!What Britain failed dismally to achieve was to transition from manufacturing High Volume-Low Cost, to Middle Volume- Middle Cost and then Low Volume-High Cost; and thereafter, create and maintain global competitive advantage in technology centric areas.Did you know, for example, that when Thatcher created British Aerospace out of the remnants of a once proud and advanced aircraft industry and placed one of her chosen, that old shambling fool Professor Sir Roland Smith in charge, he not only led BaE to the largest record corporate deficit in history - excess £1 billion - but asset stripped including flogging a satellite manufacturer who led the World to France (Aerospatiale from memory).Lovely clever strategy![quote]A start would be to cut fees for foreign students at UK Universities by half.[/quote]Selected students only: as an ex University B School Examiner, Moderator and ad hoc lecturer, far too many foreign students are wasters; also seeking this route to vanish when their student visa expires...Universities, in far too many cases, have simply ignored the incompetence and lack of suitability of these students, for the cash flow basis bums on seats and increased their pay.
Poverty and the Eurozone:
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