John Ward June 9, 2012 IQ is not a good guide to governance skills

The British Government problem: It’s not rocket science.

There is no correlation at all between IQ and wisdom.
There is no correlation at all between IQ and genius.
There is no correlation at all between IQ and practicality.
And there is no correlation at all between IQ and survival skills. But there is a correlation going back many decades between unearned privilege, IQ, Oxbridge, and Cabinet Membership in British governments of both Red and Blue.
And therein lies our problem: we are led to by those who are out of touch, often process driven, equally often silly, totally uncommercial, and ill-equipped for the coming decade.
QED

Hat-tip to Damian Thompson, whose Telegraph piece today inspired this post.

106Comments

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1

dust hurricane on June 10, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Nothing has changed in respect of the big wigs of our world.
When europe was shared out by the English, french, dutch etc… back 100’s years
ago, the bloodline lives on to this day. We must implement working class people to rule not snobs who can only make matters worse.

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2

Who flung dung on June 10, 2012 at 1:02 am

@Peter Whale.
I don’t know about dummies guide but, very good.

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3

Stackmonkey on June 9, 2012 at 11:35 pm

The OES thing doesn’t bother me at all, not if Nick Clegg is anything to go by. What frightens me more is the gradual dumbing down that’s been going on at the state schools for the past 40 years. Think of it as the “Harrison Bergeron” effect in action, and idiot’s like Clegg want to lower the bar further. We should be raising standards not lowering the bar, I’m sorry but GCSE’s are not a touch on the old O level’s. Bring back the bloody Grammar schools for a start.

In the UK we have 6 nuclear reactors that we will be decommissioning in the next 20 years, which takes a bit more knowledge and experience than a PPE degree. It makes me rather nervous to think of the next generation of policy makers and workers if Clagg, Camerloon and Millipede is the best we can do, and remember these idiots would see standards lowered further.

That’s even before we discuss the problems facing humanity’s long term survival, Peak Oil, Water, Food. Climate change and dwindling resources. Which will certainly need more wisdom that the three stooges above currently possess..

Whenever I hear of the so called “Elite” I always think of the Eloi :-)

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 11:32 pm

@Mud: I’ll tell you when I’ve brushed my teeth. BTW, it has just struck me that, in my original comment on the matter, “current meaning’ should have read “cu(rre)nt meaning’ sorry.

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Mudplugger on June 9, 2012 at 9:50 pm

Hieronimusb

At least cutting to the chase and just calling him ‘unt avoids maligning the noble animal that is the camel.

If you do ever work out what first made you think of ‘Cameltoe’, and I’m sure it’s on the tip of your tongue, do share it with us all – our breath had rarely been so baited.

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6

Ted Treen on June 9, 2012 at 9:48 pm

“The EU project does at least have the merit of being strong on the vision front if a little lacking on certain critical areas of structure and democracy.”

One could make exactly the same comment regarding the ‘projects’ of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, Kim Il Sung, etc., etc.

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CEDRIC WARD on June 9, 2012 at 9:40 pm

John…
You might make more money with a stand up act like Alf.

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 8:40 pm

@Romford: Be a reader not a follower, this isn’t a religion FFS.

What? You mean genuflecting here isn’t necessary – just another knee-jerk reaction – for god’s sake?

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 8:24 pm

@Sitc: And your fingers go through rather easily..

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Nick Markakis on June 9, 2012 at 8:20 pm

Not necessarily off-topic though…Kindle fire?
:-)

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 8:02 pm

@Mud: Forgot to add, it’s easier just to call him a *unt in any case.

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 7:56 pm

@Mud: Please let me apologise; I can’t imagine (and I’ve been trying) what made me think of it.

@Carys: You’re right, Cameldung it is. Scrub the afterthought, don’t know what got into me. Thank you for pointing out, with such lucidity, why I thought of it. The whipping into shape sounds positive, I’d quite like to see a demonstration of that; you can brick them as well, of course.

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Bereshit9 on June 9, 2012 at 7:31 pm

I think it proves that Earthquakes are notoriously unreliable at timekeeping Maxter……..!

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Ted Treen on June 9, 2012 at 7:27 pm

Re Masterplan & conspiracy theories…

This might be an apt time to look up ‘Hanlon’s razor”…

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15

John Dunn on June 9, 2012 at 7:26 pm

You are quite right Bill Casso, …One man’s sneer can be another man’s joke. I suppose it can be very subjective. But John Wards humour comes over very well when he does a personal diary style piece. I thought the holidays around North Wales was very funny and gelled with my experiences as a ‘yung un’. But sometimes the excess vitriol gets in the way, and is frankly unnecessary. For a good example of good humour, (IMHO), whilst being topical, poignant, cutting and dry, try http://www.thedailymash.co.uk It’s a mutch, mutch, funnier read.

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16

Romford Dave on June 9, 2012 at 7:17 pm

Not that this helps you in any way Bill, but I’ve never associated sneering with humour good or bad in the all the time I’ve lived here, which is nearly all my life.

In case you’re wondering, if I die immediately upon pressing and your reading this, I would have lived here all my life!

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17

Maxter on June 9, 2012 at 7:06 pm

I heard that the earthquake disaster relief was in town 24hrs before the event. Make of that what you will!

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Carys on June 9, 2012 at 6:03 pm

I quite like Cameldung, too. It has contemporary ME overtones (or outback Australian) and piques your sense of smell. And we all know that camel dung is horse dung designed by a dung committee, possibly chaired by HFD.

If whipped into shape they (camels) can move at a good speed, but their progress is notably inelegant and they are known for their tendency to throw their riders. They are rather malodorous dung creators. They can go a very long way without sustenance, though, and are thus well suited to deserts, zoos and Coalition politics.

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Carys on June 9, 2012 at 5:51 pm

This of course is why Obama is so keen for Europe to free up its log jam. That and a sense of frustration regarding Syria, a country that must be trying his patience with China and Russia blocking everything in the UN. But the more he insists on immediate EZ/EU action, the more certain countries will prevaricate. France is not over-fond of the USA, and there may be other influential EU countries with a little USA problem. I doubt if any of the 17 like being told by POTUS to get on with the job. But he does have a point. Competence is in short supply in EZ circles, though vision is not. The EU project does at least have the merit of being strong on the vision front if a little lacking on certain critical areas of structure and democracy.

One point about the USA. Obama is right to be concerned about the Hispanic vote. Not long from now the Hispanics will hold the majority, even in a country of more than 300m. That bloc could one day replace the Democrat/Republican duopoly. I suspect that scares him more than the Republicans do. A very multidimensional place the USA (or should I say set of places).

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Bill Casso on June 9, 2012 at 5:44 pm

Please help me out here Sloggers. I have seen sneer used several times on this blog and it confuses my American brain. Is there a division point in humor, a sneer and non sneer divide? How do you tell when you have crossed this line? One man’s sneer is another ones joke, do they teach you the limits of humor, if so where exactly is it? If you are offended then is it a sneer? What ever happened to having a thick skin in such matters? Just Askin

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21

Mudplugger on June 9, 2012 at 5:33 pm

Hieronimusb.
Now you’re scraping the bottom – well, damned close anyway.
‘Cameltoe’ indeed – that’s a pretty obvious crack.

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22

Bankrupt Taxpayer on June 9, 2012 at 5:27 pm

SPAM troll.

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Irma S Dean on June 9, 2012 at 5:21 pm

http://goo.gl/eWska

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MarkyMark on June 9, 2012 at 5:19 pm

Bishop, I do hope you’re last line is aimed at Mr Thompson, in which case you are spot on.

I took the cue from JW to nip over and read the Dame’s piece. I can fully understand why it should have inspired a comment, or even a blog entry, but any such response ought surely to have started with the word ‘bollocks’ and then been followed by an intelligent deconstruction.

I’d have started by enquiring into whether David Cameron’s ‘First’ meant anything at all. I was deeply surprised to learn that he had one. He doesn’t strike me as being imbued with academic intelligence.

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Nick Markakis on June 9, 2012 at 5:12 pm

@pat: that would mean starting a blog inside a blog – not appropriate.
I referred to Haiti because of previous posts (please check above comment history). Haiti is just one of the many places/countries that have been screwed up in the name of “western civilization and progress”.
Have a look at wikipedia article of Haiti (esp. the History part). It will give you a quick picture of French and US “exploitation”….

@BT: i hope it;s more clear now – it was not the present days UN intervention what i had in mind, as I am not very well informed on this period (and i am very skeptical with conspiracy theories). I was mainly referring to the past (17th-20th centuries).
It seems though that nowadays those people are forgotten by the universe….

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26

Melissa on June 9, 2012 at 4:44 pm

“I would not have it any other way,we need more passion, more standing up I can see the merits and downside for myself and judge accordingly but i want to hear it come what may,”

Yes, you have the emotional immunities necessary to ‘take it’ and maintain equilibrium and decide yes, no, maybe so. The problem can arise though with people who haven’t such balance and interpret it as demagogic hatred, because that is what an intensely derogatory tone can do to some people.

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27

Geo on June 9, 2012 at 4:28 pm

Thanks for an interesting reference. Perhaps they will institute covert harems and up the general IQ on the sly. Or not. As it stands, if the article’s premises are accepted, then we have a similar result as in ‘Brave New World’ by Huxley — but without the test tubes and engineering.

Reminds me though of a poll said to have been done at Harvard whereby one of the graduating classes of the late 1980’s was asked, each one as they descended from podium diploma in hand, if they knew the real scientific reason why the earth is warmer in the summer than winter? Nearly 90% replied incorrectly that is was because the earth was nearer the sun in summer.

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Romford Dave on June 9, 2012 at 4:24 pm

The obvious question of what nationality were the alcoholics is of no consequence, suffice it to say that they are now really pissed at Helga without the benefit of being pissed although they can take comfort in that as we’re all in it together, we’re equally pissed without being pissed.

This comfort being short lived as given the increase in life span of the unemployed alcoholics due to the recuperative qualities inherent of liver organs puts downward pressure on pension annuities thus Europeanising a popular Anglo-Saxon proverb which now reads as “every silver lining has a cloud”.

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29

CEDRIC WARD on June 9, 2012 at 4:23 pm

Irish drinking song – Bugger off

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CEDRIC WARD on June 9, 2012 at 4:08 pm

Humanism
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Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view, or practice that focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. According to Greg M. Epstein, “Humanism today can be categorized as a movement, a philosophy of life or worldview, or … [a] lifestance.”[1] In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism.[citation needed]
Secular humanism is a secular ideology which espouses reason, ethics, and justice, whilst specifically rejecting supernatural and religious dogma as a basis of morality and decision-making. Secular humanism contrasts with religious humanism, which is an integration of humanist ethical philosophy with religious rituals and beliefs that center on human needs, interests, and abilities.[2] Renaissance humanism is a cultural movement of the Italian Renaissance based on the study of classical works.[3][4]
Religious and secular humanism arose from a trajectory extending from the deism and anti-clericalism of the Enlightenment, the various secular movements of the 19th century (such as positivism), and the overarching expansion of the scientific project

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31

Cynthia P on June 9, 2012 at 3:56 pm

Thanks Bishop Tut-Tut Wagafinger for first alert to Damian Thompson’s article….
placed before JW changed the story completely due to criticisms
not cricket old chapper..

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32

Bill Casso on June 9, 2012 at 3:36 pm

@PP Thanks for you input because the reply’s to it are very interesting. To what extent do the Eurocrats have a plan? Good question. You can see that some of the readers of this blog are more conspiratorial than others. What we all seem to agree on is extending the current economic model and it’s ever increasing debt will eventually fail. As to JW style of prose… that is what is fun about a Blog in contrast to the MSM, you are getting his personal view on things. Do I agree with everything he says? Well No however I do recognize that it is his forum and not mine, I share his anger and frustration so it works for me.

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Mattej on June 9, 2012 at 3:21 pm

I am surprised that you made this comment on this post, I thought that we were supposed to stay on topic, ?

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34

c777 on June 9, 2012 at 2:53 pm

True.
Especially when it’s not their money!

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Geo on June 9, 2012 at 2:35 pm

@Romford_Dave
Excellent.

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36

trevor says on June 9, 2012 at 2:33 pm

Whats elite about a heap of crap?

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Bankrupt Taxpayer on June 9, 2012 at 2:32 pm

Yes. An excellent analogy. The lengths that the Left will go to, to redistribute wealth knows no limits!

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Bankrupt Taxpayer on June 9, 2012 at 2:21 pm

@pat: As far as I know the US sent in military techs to take over ground control of the airport because after the quake it was in chaos and aid flights arriving/departing were in danger of crashing etc. I’m sure someone can provide a conspiray theory to cast doubt on that.

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39

Peter Whale on June 9, 2012 at 2:14 pm

The EU explained for Oxbridge IQ.

Dummies guide to what went wrong in Europe.

Helga is the proprietor of a bar. She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. To solve this problem she comes up with a new marketing plan that allows her customers to drink now, but pay later.

Helga keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers’ loans).

Word gets around about Helga’s “drink now, pay later” marketing strategy and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Helga’s bar. Soon she has thelargest sales volume for any bar in town.
By providing her customers freedom from immediate payment demands Helga gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer – the most consumed beverages.

Consequently, Helga’s gross sales volumes and paper profits increase massively. A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognises that these customer debts constitute valuable future assets and increases Helga’s borrowing limit. He sees no reason for any undue concern, since he has the debts of the unemployed alcoholics as collateral.

He is rewarded with a six figure bonus.
At the bank’s corporate headquarters, expert traders figure a way to make huge commissions, and transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS. These “securities” are then bundled and traded on international securities markets.
Naive investors don’t really understand that the securities being sold to them as “AA Secured Bonds” are really debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, the bond prices continuously climb and the securities soon become the hottest-selling items for some of the nation’s leading brokerage houses.

The traders all receive a six figure bonus.

One day, even though the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the original local bank decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Helga’s bar. He so informs Helga. Helga then demands payment from her alcoholic patrons but, being unemployed alcoholics, they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Since Helga cannot fulfil her loan obligations she is forced into bankruptcy. The bar closes and Helga’s 11 employees lose their jobs.

Overnight, DRINKBOND prices drop by 90%. The collapsed bond asset value destroys the bank’s liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans, thus freezing credit and economic activity in the community.

The suppliers of Helga’s bar had granted her generous payment extensions and had invested their firms’ pension funds in the BOND securities. They find they are now faced with having to write off her bad debt and with losing over 90% of the presumed value of the bonds. Her wine supplier also claims bankruptcy, closing the doors on a family business that had endured for three generations; her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 150 workers.

Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses and their respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multibillion dollar no-strings attached cash infusion from the government.

They all receive a six figure bonus.

The funds required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied on employed, middle-class, non-drinkers who’ve never been in Helga’s bar.

Now do you understand?
__._,_.___

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40

Bereshit9 on June 9, 2012 at 2:12 pm

@piston – Checkout “Participants”on the same web page you referenced, anyone accused of being biased towards big business and moderate conservatism hardly constitutes an evil empire along the lines of SPECTRE as some on the lunatic fringe purport.

Their simple philosophy is to maintain the status quo and thus their position of power, perfectly understandable aim from their point of view, except destined for failure in an evolutionary environment such that we live in.

Waste, stupidity and greed is the enemy, always has been and always will be.

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41

MickC on June 9, 2012 at 2:04 pm

Bit late to this one today-but Mr. Ward, you are on sparkling form!
Your blog and the comments never fail to inform, entertain and yes, occasionally annoy (thank god-don’t want anodyne crap!). One of the best on the net.

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42

Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Cameltoe probably better but you need to google it to discover the current meaning..

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Bereshit9 on June 9, 2012 at 1:37 pm

Getting back on to a new topic is the appropriate opener surely Domestos, given the change of Ward’s words?

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c777 on June 9, 2012 at 1:28 pm

I feel there is an historical parallel here the people that Damian Thompson writes of and the former Bourbon family who resided in their very own ivory tower.
We have many” Louis” and “Pompadours” amongst the so called liberal elite ,the crux of the matter is they are neither liberal nor elite,they just think they are.
How dumb is that?
Thwuuunk!

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45

DomesticExtremist on June 9, 2012 at 1:20 pm

Getting back on topic – the basic premise of the article is that intelligence is inherited (which has not been proven, and is almost by evolutionary definition untrue), and that it is measured by either IQ (a poor guess at best) or can be inferred by academic qualifications. The latter mostly prove that one is good at exams and outside of maths and science that in turn mostly comprises of faithfully regurgitating a set of opinions from previous accepted scholars in a particular field.

So the whole theory turns to bunk rather quickly.

That is not to say we don’t have an overeducated elitist snobbery problem.
Though it might be better termed over academically qualified elitist snobbery.
The British University system excels at teaching arrogant elitism above all else – to whatever social class it’s students. However, the public school system enhances that and the preponderance of public school educated students at our top universities puts the icing on the cake.

My primarily problem with selection by chequebook is that we end up with a nation run by and for rich idiots.

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Who flung dung on June 9, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Yes, what happened to: “EUROBLOWN: Merkel the Merciful offers Athens a clear choice…. ”
Also, at least one of the comments on the previous “At the End of the Day” blog has vanished???

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Twodogs on June 9, 2012 at 12:57 pm

Money is never distributed on earth according to human need. Some people have pretended to do so, but only for the political benefit it brings. Those doing the “giving” are never sacrificing their own wants, just other people’s. They “reward” themselves for their false altruism by living in the lap of luxury while holding tightly the reins of power.

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48

FrankS on June 9, 2012 at 12:50 pm

The blog currently above these comments is not the one that inspired them. Is this some cunning move by The Slog, or just something wrong with WordPress?

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pat on June 9, 2012 at 12:42 pm

Hi there, if you have a little time can you give a synopsis of what happened in haiti. I know there is a lot one could write, but an overview or just some key points would be great. I know I should read about it, but these days I find I am reading so much new stuff as so much of what we thought we knew or were told is complete BS. I know the haitians have been screwed and found it strange the first thing that happened after the quake was the US sent in troops. Never understood on what grounds was the right to send in troops established. not that those in charge care about such things

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John Ward on June 9, 2012 at 11:59 am

Hiero.
Cameldung I like. Cameldung is good. We must start an anthology of schoolboy nicknames and annoy Mr Powell some more.

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John Ward on June 9, 2012 at 11:57 am

Hence the BB’s Prezz getting a tad hot under the collar.

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John Ward on June 9, 2012 at 11:56 am

Sorry Grounded, was trying not to sneer there.

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John Ward on June 9, 2012 at 11:53 am

Right, it might be time for me to come in here
Re name-calling: if the cap fits, wear it. Neo-Nazi is not name-calling. There is ample evidence that the Osti in Merkel is alive and well. She is merely one of those Stalinists who the next day is a europhilistine because that suits her book. See my blog of January this year.
Re schoolyard: read the Merkel speech. It is one long Freudian slip of the forked tongue: “If you want to stay in the euro, you’re going to have to die to do it”.
The correct German for female leader is Fuhrerin. The fact that it has negative connotations is down to the Germans and their ‘form’ in such things, not me.
I too do not believe there is a plan. I have never said there is a plan. There is only the MIM syndrome (see my blog of earlier this week).
Please don’t lecture me on how to write my blog. If you don’t like it, the option to bugger off is always there.
Carry on chaps.

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John Ward on June 9, 2012 at 11:45 am

Popo (as in the puppet, I presume)
The failed, hopelessly corrupt third-world state that was Greece didn’t deserve to be artificially elevated to first-world status…the Germans put it there, because the Italians said to them we won’t buy your cars if you turn them down.
I don’t remember the Haitians inventing democracy and creating the world’s first philosophy school, but then I’m not a classicist.
Thanks for pointing out the pretence in my humanism, your mind-reading skills must come in very useful at times like these.
Germany’s actions are entirely inappropriate for all the reasons I outlined in the penultimate paragraph.
And by the way, I’m not a humanist. Do you know what the term means?

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the ghost on June 9, 2012 at 11:38 am

My local school changed the school science curriculum meaning anyone wanting to go into science would need to take O Level at college without consulting parents
My daughter lead pupil action against the move and i was called into school i refused to condemn her actions to the shock of the teachers, i did say i would ask her to do it in a more respectful manner and said we need more people to stand up for what is right and that within 2 years they themselves would be taking action
John stands up and calls it has he sees it,he can get a little passionate and go over the top
I would not have it any other way,we need more passion, more standing up I can see the merits and downside for myself and judge accordingly but i want to hear it come what may,

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Bankrupt Taxpayer on June 9, 2012 at 11:37 am

I hear that Leveson has had to install a bank of *blather decoders* in prep for Garry’s appearance…and a box full of cell phones…

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Robert on June 9, 2012 at 11:17 am

If you want a more measured view of the EU and the Eurocrisis go to the EUreferendum site. Richard North knows how the EU works but freely admits to not understanding the finance. As the Eurozone was always a political construct watch Brussels, not the leaders of the nations. It is Barosso and Van Rompuy who have to keep the show on the road. Germany may be the paymaster, but Merkel and Sarkozy are just here today gone tomorrow politicians.The aim is total political and financial union, the European superstate and the end of the nation state. Democracy is not part of this. Cameron’s visit to Merkel this week was theatre for the gullible press and Cameron has been told not to rock the boat and to avoid a referendum. The real action is in Brussels and some of that will be revealed at the next Council of Ministers in Brussels this month. There is no new treaty, just the outline of a treaty that may be presented to the nation states for ever closer unity. Their problem is how to save the Eurozone without destroying the EU. They may have over-reached themselves this time.

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groundedkiwi on June 9, 2012 at 11:15 am

The t in much looks great. Mutch appreciated .

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 11:15 am

Maybe, but it could still wipe the smile off someone’s face :)

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Nick Markakis on June 9, 2012 at 11:13 am

This article describes very well the present situation – tight and accurate.
The incompetence, the stupidity, the short-eyed reactions of the EU leaders, their inability to take the ship to calmer waters, is getting so obviously exposed day by day, that jokes like “change of clothes” are just a gentle reminder.
Stop being angry with the people that write about the truth – start getting a little angry with the people that are responsible for this situation.
Close the trash TV and put the tabloid in the recycle bin. Read Haiti’s history instead and try to understand how this poor little state has come to the present situation….could be that you find out how your nation or your society is involved to little Haiti’s dreadful situation.
Sarcasm can be a very powerful means, sometimes it’s all the means we simple people have, to describe the situation and our desperation.
The basic principle here is that you should not throw sarcastic criticism upon others, if you are not able and prepared to also receive it – then you’re not sarcastic, you’re mean…But that’s not the case with the Slog – not from what i have been reading so far.

“because the heart the you break, that’s the one that you rely on,
the bed that you make, that’s the one you gotta lie on.
And when you point your finger cos your plan fell through,
you got three more fingers, pointing back at you, yeah”.
(Dire Straits – Solid Rock)

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Professor Dr. Bigwigg on June 9, 2012 at 11:11 am

In 1985, during a brief visit to the Greek National Bank, preparations for Greece’s entry to the EU were well underway. Many ex London consultancy types were busy doing the most amazing financial engineering “to get the books in shape”.

By mid 1990’s Greece was spending money they did not or could not get, massive frauds with mainly the French and German banks totally complicit were the order of the day.

I personally warned various compamies not to touch pending contracts out of Athens, where unrealistic kick back were taking place almost weekly.

The ordinary Greek people will be the ones to pay, although some deserve it. See Mr Panos for a delightfull skit posted in March this year.

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 11:10 am

@pp: Why keep returning to the same house in order to complain about the hospitality?

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John on June 9, 2012 at 11:02 am

I kind of like a bit of “barroom barracking” now and then… beats any regular news.

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Bankrupt Taxpayer on June 9, 2012 at 11:02 am

@patrick powell:
There is a masterplan; it is called the European Project and it has existed for a long time for the very reason you say: “For better or for worse the ideal of a Europe at peace with itself is – ‘was’ is now more appropriate – laudable if, in my view, adolescent pie-in-the sky, but it was the ideal upon which the whole pack of cards rested.”

If one was to be generous, one might say that it is not, and never was, a sinister project for European domination by Germany or anyone else and was rooted with the best intentions. But it was a poorly concepted plan carried out by idiots who are mostly on the political Left. And inevitably it has been taken over and dominated by incompetent career politicians and E-crats who see personal power and gain in it. These people have little allegiance or interest in democracy because they know they’d never be elected under such a system. So, autocracy has become the order of the day.

I do not believe the current financial crises was deliberately planned – even though a few of Europe’s original planners considered such an event – but I do believe that the current elites are constrained in their actions by (a) their own incompetence and inability to see the serious damage they are doing and (b) by their devoted commitment to the Project (nobody wants to go down in history as the leader who brought the EU to its knees) and (c) national political considerations (would Murky get re-elected if she authorised the ECB to turn on the taps with new money?)

Sometime soon, the ponzi scheme they’ve created will blow apart. It must because these incompetent idiots are finally beginning to understand that there’s no commonly-agreed solution to the crises. Hence talk of the Big Reset button which is gathering attention.

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John Ward – Euroblown : Merkel The Merciful Offers Athens A Clear Choice… – 9 June 2012 | Lucas 2012 Infos on June 9, 2012 at 11:01 am

[…] link to original article Share this:MorePrintShare on TumblrEmailDigg Pin ItLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. […]

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Send in the clowns on June 9, 2012 at 10:56 am

I am assured the paper is quilted, soft to the touch and comes in handy rolls.

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Raymondo6 on June 9, 2012 at 10:52 am

I love it too John! Please keep on carrying on!

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bigbwana on June 9, 2012 at 10:52 am

The Galactic Federation promises us that all who have committed crimes against humanity will be fittingly punished. And there are thousands, which will take time, for everything has to be legal. They are scrupulously honest. The purge of the Illuminati is already underway, and, before year’s end, all will have been removed, including corrupt Bankers, and we will be governed by honest people. Spread the Light. And the Love. Peace and abundance will soon be ours!

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Viking Jack on June 9, 2012 at 10:52 am

@ ΠΟΡΤΑ ΠΟΡΤΑ

I’m afraid your figures are out of date – by about 54 billion. The figure you have used was as at the end of April. The headline today at the link below:

“Target 2 in May: all-time high of almost 700 billion euros

German SME News | 09:06:12, 01:38 |

The imbalance in the Euro system is becoming increasingly clear: at the end of May the claims of the Deutsche Bundesbank increased sharply once again. The TARGET2-balance stood at more than 698 billion Euro.”

http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2012/06/43509/

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Piston Broke on June 9, 2012 at 10:46 am

If there were no plan, there would be no Bilderberg Group.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group
Checkout “Role”
I’m not so keen either on what appears to be a Friday night hangover rant,
We are all hypnotised by the society we live in.
My view of this blog is that it helps us all wake up.

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 10:40 am

@pp: Phew, you really had us worried…

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Bankrupt Taxpayer on June 9, 2012 at 10:35 am

@Sitc: Damicol summed it up nicely. And he’s not the first. Ponzi schemes are unlawful. The EU elites are running a giant ponzi scheme. Ergo, they are criminals and need to be held to account. Who do we call?

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Romford_Dave on June 9, 2012 at 10:34 am

Is there a rule I wasn’t aware where we all have to slavishly agree to everything we read on here or maintain a discreet silence?

I was going to post this as a reply to one post: –

“Bollocks – This unfettered bullshit that this (non existent) elite are clever enough to see what’s happening tomorrow let alone a decade down the line is on a par with the New World Order crap spouted by conspiracy fantasists.

People scheme, people anticipate, people do everything they can think of to engineer an outcome, but it always falls apart once humans beings are involved. The randomness of spirit is what f*cks up every neatly drawn line.

As it should do, because that’s what free will brings.

You can choose to roll over and believe all the bad things that happen is because of this elusive elite that exists only in your mind. That’s the choice your free will chose, mine chooses differently.”

Do the thought police need to give it the once over first?

Perhaps I should toss in the two legs bad bollox into the script or was my lighthearted gag ‘tell us how to f*ck off John’ more appropriate than I thought.

Be a reader not a follower, this isn’t a religion FFS.

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patrick powell (@pfgpowell) on June 9, 2012 at 10:34 am

Aren’t we a bit beyond point-scoring?

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 10:34 am

You can’t sell what you haven’t got. Oh no, sorry, that’s not right…

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ΠΟΡΤΑ ΠΟΡΤΑ on June 9, 2012 at 10:32 am

When Bank A is billed monthly for Federal Reserve services used, it can pay for these services by havingearnings credits applied and/or by authorizing a direct charge to its reserve account. Suppose Bank A has accruedearnings credits of $100 but incurs fees of $125. Then both methods would be used. On the Federal ReserveBank’s books, the liability account “earnings credits due to depository institutions” declines by $100 and Bank A’sreserve account is reduced by $25. Offsetting these entries is a reduction in the Fed’s (other) asset account”accrued service income.” On Bank A’s books, the accounting entries might be a $100 reduction to its assetaccount “earnings credit due from Federal Reserve Banks” and a $25 reduction in its reserve account, which areoffset by a $125 decline in its liability “accounts payable.” While an individual bank may use different accountingentries, the net effect on reserves is a reduction of $25, the amount of billed fees that were paid through a directcharge to Bank A’s reserve account.

DONT U LOVE’ΕM ?

ΠΠ

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Bishop tut-Tut Wagafinger on June 9, 2012 at 10:31 am

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100163885/a-new-global-elite-is-on-the-march/

OVEREDUCATED ELITIST SNOB

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tembo11 on June 9, 2012 at 10:30 am

This is a part of the whole global mis-spending of money without any real thought of if there is either
~) any better way to achieve the same results or
~) if the money can be better spent in another way

This is despite such Government (UK) Treasury guidance as the “Green Book” that ought to (as necessity) cover the two points above

It is being done (“Short Termism” economics normally) to achieve obvious results (that politicians can “Soundbite” over) in typical 4 or 5 year electioneering periods and without spending a large amount in any one year (In some UK health related issue spending a lesser ~ but not small ~ amount possibly at infinitum is seen as a solution)

This has become totally seperated from the necesity of how any such upfront loan is ever going to be paid back (e.g. sub-prime mortgages) and is amid ever more Government rhetoric for the financial instituions to increase (effectively) lending so as to increase consumer demand and thus try to restore economic growth

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 10:30 am

@kfc: Hmmm, could be more of the same, could be something new! FWIW, I ran into my accountant on Thursday and he repeated what he said to me before Christmas, with total conviction based on information supplied by someone involved, that our Mint (South Wales) completed a very large run of DM in the latter part of last year.

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patrick powell (@pfgpowell) on June 9, 2012 at 10:28 am

I disagree. There is no plan ‘to create a financial crisis’. If only there were a plan of some kind, any kind, but there isn’t and none of those in charge in Brussels has the faintest clue how to get out of this mess and avoiding huge damage at the same time.

The euro freaks were warned time and again in 2000 that the sine qua non of a currency union is a fiscal union. But they pooh-poohed the idea because they were so taken with the sugary sweetness of a European brotherhood of man. Undoubtedly many of them are, individually, very bright men and women, but they put all that aside and just went for the emotion and sentimentality of it all.

I fully agree that developments brought about by the euro crisis – ‘technocratic’ caretaker governments in Greece and Italy – are taking the EU ever further away from democracy and the corny old ‘will of the people’ ideal. But I can’t agree that there is some masterplan, from the Germans or anyone else, to ‘dominate Europe’. For better or for worse the ideal of a Europe at peace with itself is – ‘was’ is now more appropriate – laudable if, in my view, adolescent pie-in-the sky, but it was the ideal upon which the whole pack of cards rested. If ever there were a better example to illuminate the cliche of ‘the road to Hell is paved with good intentions’, this is it. I repeat: talk of a masterplan to dominate Europe is paranoid claptrap, Unfortunately, the reality we have now – a gang of highly-paid, self-important, self-regarding, vain and conceited superannuated hippies still hanging onto the utopian dreams of their salad days – is equally as dangerous and disturbing.

The reality is that whatever they say, however many summits they hold, however many times Obama urges Europe to ‘find a solution’, it is far too late for anything. It is now out of control, and the best we can all hope for is that the economic fallout will not affect us personally too badly. Although I’m an old fart, I have a 13-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter and I am far more worried about how the coming slump will affect them and their futures than anything which might happen to me.

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william on June 9, 2012 at 10:24 am

Will Garry’s appearance at Leveson be a ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ signal?

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Bishop Tut-Tut Wagafinger on June 9, 2012 at 10:23 am

It is noticeable from a few of the comments in this fine piece by JW that OES SYNDROME is afflicting a number of observations from afar.
The Slog is not for arrogant dry marketmakers , but for down to earth members of today’s civilisation who are gifted with more powers of analysis than some of the self appointed elite would wish.

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FrankS on June 9, 2012 at 10:23 am

Talking of childish jokes, have I ever mentioned this:
http://www.onetwo.dsl.pipex.com/LadyEuro

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Who flung dung on June 9, 2012 at 10:22 am

Talking of Haitians.
From what I understand, Haiti has a lot of mineral wealth, which is currently being raped by large corps. without, I might add being very beneficial to the local population.

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FrankS on June 9, 2012 at 10:21 am

One difference between Haiti and Greece – Haiti is not considered to be part of the European empire.

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 10:21 am

@pp: Aren’t we a bit beyond point scoring?

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kfc1404 on June 9, 2012 at 10:20 am

What does anybody make of this?
“Material Banknote Order Reinstated”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/material-banknote-order-reinstated

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 10:15 am

But nil desperandum fellow Island Racers…..

I’m sorry but David Cameldung and his band of Toerag are striking ever deeper into the desert where the indigenous population, who can spell, are better prepared than he can even begin to imagine.

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FrankS on June 9, 2012 at 10:12 am

Quite so – a German joke is no laughing matter.

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patrick powell (@pfgpowell) on June 9, 2012 at 10:09 am

If I’m the ‘pious twat’ you write about, then all I can say is that just haven’t understood the point I’m making. You know – or should do – that, for better or worse, that presentation can lose on points what is otherwise a very strong argument.

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patrick powell (@pfgpowell) on June 9, 2012 at 10:06 am

I don’t want to read ‘polite bullshit’ and there’s nothing wrong with invective. It’s just that I’m one of those few odd souls that prefers his invective to have a modicum of wit. The Slog’s simply doesn’t. All too often it descends into barroom barracking, and thereby distracts from what it is trying to get over.

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Hieronimusb on June 9, 2012 at 10:06 am

@pp: If the MSM even began to approach the quality of the Beano in their reporting and analysis, you might have a point. But they don’t…
We have to take the piss, they haven’t left us with anything else. Whilst this is still a ‘free country’ you are, of course, at liberty to do your reading elsewhere..

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Who flung dung on June 9, 2012 at 10:05 am

“What we have always said is that we want Greece to remain a member of the eurozone. The precondition for that to succeed is that the future Greek government sticks to the memorandum that was agreed with the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and the European Commission.”[sic]

No pressure then!

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Popo on June 9, 2012 at 10:03 am

And while we’re on the topic of constructive criticism, can out beloved host please try to include some semblance of economic reality in these posts? Why criticize leadership for not adhering to economically impossible wish lists? Germany is hardly acting inappropriately.

Criticizing Merkel for her lack of humanity pretends that money is distributed on this Earth in accordance with human need. Its a lovely thought, John, but why the failed, hopelessly corrupt third-world state that was Greece deserves to be artificially elevated to first-world status is beyond me.

Are you also furious that Germany is allowing poor Haitians to also go without medical treatment? Or is there something particularly deserving about Athenians? As long as you’re pretending to take the humanist approach to financial crises, perhaps you could find it in your heart to include the rest of humanity. Or would that make your whole argument too obviously ridiculous?

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me on June 9, 2012 at 10:00 am

What about calling someone a “pious twat”, would that be allowed?

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Morningstar on June 9, 2012 at 9:59 am

The thing is……….Beano style jokes is the best way to display the idiocy of the whole project. At times ridicule is the best means of attacking those who try so hard to appear authoritative………..and it works. People in authority hate most being made to look stupid (even when they are behaving stupidly).

Carry on John – I love it ! (Which may or may not be a recommendation from your viewpoint).

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Confused.eu on June 9, 2012 at 9:59 am

A Tyler is reporting over on ZH that in the announcement last night by Moodys (with the added conspiracy note that this happened AFTER all the markets shut for the weekend) that they were downgrading Spain was a little snippet along the lines of… If Greece goes, the impact on the other perripherals is such that ALL countries in the Eurozone would be downgraded, including those currently triple A.
I’m guessing Ms merkel would be in a very difficult position with BuBa and the rest of the population then…

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Send in the clowns on June 9, 2012 at 9:57 am

Patrick, if you want to read polite bullshit, then there’s a whole MSN out there to keep you happy the day long. And to underline that, I can do no better that re-publish this missive from threader Damicol in today’s Daily Telegraph.

I strongly suggest that these clowns thieves and corrupt devious lying criminals employ the services of one Mr Bernie Madeoff.
He had a redeeming feature, He knew what he was doing.

At least his Ponzi scheme lasted far longer that the shot to pieces holed below the waterline, bankrupt and thoroughly discredited abysmal paper shuffling pretense that the current utterly useless stack of corrupt worthless tissue of risible and actually laughable pottage of insignificant documents and plans and bonds that these feeble minded utterly incompetent nincompoops, bereft as they are of even the slightest inkling of what financial matters mean in the real world.

At least Mr Madeoff’s schemes, when they collapsed, did so without leaving hundreds of millions of ordinary people bankrupt and with wrecked lives and the imposition of usurious taxes and theft of citizens assets and the wholesale destruction of the entire SME base of the Southern United States.

These dregs from the bottom of a cesspit have not only targeted the elderly, wrecking and stealing pensions, homeowners, small businesses the sick the university graduates and hundreds of millions losing freedoms and rights and their future. and smashed beyond any possible hopes of recovery over 30 % of the SME base of Southern Europe

And the receivers actually managed to rescue something from Mr Madeoff’s excesses.

This Ponzi scheme, currently rocketing north of 50 trillion across just the EU alone and the inept criminal shysters and their filthy toadying supporters, when this collapses, it will not, as with Mr Madeoff, see an end to the misery, but the start of something that will wreck ever more millions of lives and leave nothing but smoking ruins and utter devastation over a whole continent.

And that is if it collapses right now.

God knows whats in store if somehow these lying scumbags can suppress and stamp on the lives of the 500 million Europeans, grinding them ever deeper into despair and poverty by plundering the scraps that are left to keep this figment of their twisted imagination as far as anything of any value is concerned going.

And that leaves me left to consider just how upright, respectable and honorable and just what a paragon of virtue and sincerity and honesty he was in comparison to the parasitic turds that infest Brussels.

damicol

1 hour ago

I strongly suggest that these clowns thieves and corrupt devious lying criminals employ the services of one Mr Bernie Madeoff.
He had a redeeming feature, He knew what he was doing.

At least his Ponzi scheme lasted far longer that the shot to pieces holed below the waterline, bankrupt and thoroughly discredited abysmal paper shuffling pretense that the current utterly useless stack of corrupt worthless tissue of risible and actually laughable pottage of insignificant documents and plans and bonds that these feeble minded utterly incompetent nincompoops, bereft as they are of even the slightest inkling of what financial matters mean in the real world.

At least Mr Madeoff’s schemes, when they collapsed, did so without leaving hundreds of millions of ordinary people bankrupt and with wrecked lives and the imposition of usurious taxes and theft of citizens assets and the wholesale destruction of the entire SME base of the Southern United States.

These dregs from the bottom of a cesspit have not only targeted the elderly, wrecking and stealing pensions, homeowners, small businesses the sick the university graduates and hundreds of millions losing freedoms and rights and their future. and smashed beyond any possible hopes of recovery over 30 % of the SME base of Southern Europe

And the receivers actually managed to rescue something from Mr Madeoff’s excesses.

This Ponzi scheme, currently rocketing north of 50 trillion across just the EU alone and the inept criminal shysters and their filthy toadying supporters, when this collapses, it will not, as with Mr Madeoff, see an end to the misery, but the start of something that will wreck ever more millions of lives and leave nothing but smoking ruins and utter devastation over a whole continent.

And that is if it collapses right now.

God knows whats in store if somehow these lying scumbags can suppress and stamp on the lives of the 500 million Europeans, grinding them ever deeper into despair and poverty by plundering the scraps that are left to keep this figment of their twisted imagination as far as anything of any value is concerned going.

And that leaves me left to consider just how upright, respectable and honorable and just what a paragon of virtue and sincerity and honesty he was in comparison to the parasitic turds that infest Brussels.

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ΠΟΡΤΑ ΠΟΡΤΑ on June 9, 2012 at 9:57 am

Bundesbank direct immediate losses of Grexit is/will be :

€ 644.182.010.456,05

I adore detailed info.. dont you ??
( check out TARGET 2 Eurosystem data )

TAGRET 2 is the KEY to extortion…and financial violence.

ΠΠ

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David Vance on June 9, 2012 at 9:56 am

Excellent commetary, I agree.

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ΠΟΡΤΑ ΠΟΡΤΑ on June 9, 2012 at 9:51 am

The Ponzi financial universe will collapse very shortly.

700trillion USD in toxic derivatives WWide + Financial WWIII

Poverty and violence in all major cities WW.

Billions of bad housing CDO’s of Spain have been sold by Goldman Sachs to Mexico and Venezuela. !! ok ??

Mexico is NAFTA

NAFTA is HOT POTATO fro Obama, 10ths millions hispanic voters.

Obamas is in direct battle with Merkel for political and not Ecofinancial reasons.

Merkel haw also elections… LOL

UK will be hit hardly after Japan and Australia/China ( check the trade balance of the 2)

UK will not get away with it after the USD unlimited $$ swaps ( BOE + FED + BOJ + BOS + ECB )… Europe is out of Euros.

I always loved the FED structure. READ this AGAIN n AGAIN
http://www.scribd.com/doc/96494900/Modern-Money-Mechanics

The euro will be history in less than 18 months from this weekend. mark my comment.

ΠΠ

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John Dunn on June 9, 2012 at 9:46 am

Sorry no ‘t’ in much.

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John Dunn on June 9, 2012 at 9:44 am

I agree with Patrick Powell. Mutch of your humour is good. But sometimes you cross into sneer, and it doesn’t do justice to the rest of your blog.

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Westy on June 9, 2012 at 9:43 am

@pfgpowell; I think the naming calling is a mark of the desperation that John feels. I feel it too (even if I too get a little tired of this kind of schoolyard name calling bollocks).

No-one knows how this is going to end however this situation was exactly what was envisaged by the “EU Elite”; creating a financial crisis was part of the plan; get people scared of losing “everything” and you can push through stuff in the name of “stability” that you’d never achieve through persuasion alone.

It’s blindingly obvious but, unfortunately, most people are blind.

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ΠΟΡΤΑ ΠΟΡΤΑ on June 9, 2012 at 9:42 am

All in favor of democratic pracrtices, make one step forward.

1. Absolute priority to debt service
Greece has to legally commit itself to giving absolute priority to future debt service. This commitment has to be legally enshrined by the Greek Parliament. State revenues are to be used first and foremost for debt service, only any remaining revenue may be used to finance primary expenditure. This will reassure public and private creditors that the Hellenic Republic will honour its comittments after PSI and will positively influence market access. De facto elimination of the possibility of a default would make the threat of a non-disbursement of a GRC II tranche much more credible. If a future tranche is not disbursed, Greece can not threaten its lenders with a
default, but will instead have to accept further cuts in primary expenditures as the only possible consequence of any non-disbursement.

2. Transfer of national budgetary sovereignty
Budget consolidation has to be put under a strict steering and control system. Given the disappointing compliance so far, Greece has to accept shifting budgetary sovereignty to the European level for a certain period of time. A budget commissioner has to be appointed by the Eurogroup with the task of ensuring budgetary control. He must have the power a) to implement a centralized reporting and surveillance system covering all major blocks of expenditure in the Greek budget, b) to veto decisions not in line with the budgetary targets set by the Troika and c) will be tasked to ensure compliance with the above mentioned rule to prioritize debt service.

The rest will be struck by thunder ( made by Siemens )

ΠΠ

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patrick powell (@pfgpowell) on June 9, 2012 at 9:27 am

When I first came across this blog, I was impressed by your apparently strong stable of contacts. Now, despite that, I am getting ever wearier with the style of presentation – neo-Nazi Merkel, the Fuhrerin, PoW Kommandants – which does you and, crucially, your subject matter and objective to see behind the bollocks no favours whatsoever. By all means take the piss, but your chosen style reminds me of nothing more impressive than sniggering fifth-formers and UKIP types in cravats. Please, please, please stick to the info and drop the name calling and Beano-style jokes.

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