The Bookies Close Their Books on Greece Leaving the Euro
That effectively means it’s all over, as you never argue with a bookie’s judgement. Read about it here.
The Scandal of the European Court of Justice
I’m not talking about any judgements, as that is for the court to decide.
But they have just said, that they have a waiting list of 150,000 cases. That is a true scandal.
I think in some jurisdictions, which might include Scotland, there is a time limit, before which a criminal case must be started, if the defendant is in custody. If it isn’t then the defendant is released.
We need more thinking like that!
Abu Hamza Can Be Extradited
I’m not going to comment on the legal reasons, as it does seem to me, that the verdict of the European Court to allow the extradition of Abu Hamza may create more problems than it solves.
After all, it’s unlikely he’ll get a slap on the wrists in a United States court, so what will be the reaction of his apologists here in the UK, when they realise he’s not going to come back? I think it might be better for everyone here if he was kept in a nice warm cell and released when his time is up.
But then I don’t have to get elected in a few years time.
The EU could put a whole cap on it, by passing a law that says that no-one could be extradited to a country with the death penalty on the statute book.
WIll This Greek Package Work?
The Greek government passed a new package of austerity measures last night as this report says. but will the Greek public accept it? As Greeks by repute seem to feel that taxes are optional, I doubt that this deal will stick.
What Have Fred Goodwin, Allen Stanford and Robert Mugabe Got In Common?
They all have lost their knighthoods, although Mugabe’s was honorary. But they would make a wonderfully well-matched set of dinner party companions!
But count your fingers after they’ve left.
One ruined the currency of one of the richer countries in the developing world, another stole virtually all the cash in a series of islands and the third helped to create a banking crisis that affected much of Northern Europe.
Who’s To Blame for the Eurocrisis?
I just found this rather deep and thorough approach on the BBC.
To summarise, it says that because France and Germany cooked the books, with Gordon Brown’s help, to get round the Maastrict rules, that it is now acceptable for anybody to overspend.
So Why Is A Credit Rating Important?
According to this report, there is anger in the EU about the downgrading of the credit rating of France and eight other EU countries.
So is this important for the countries involved?
Look at it on a personal basis!
If you have a good credit rating, you can borrow money a lot cheaper, than if you have a bad one.
It’s just the same really.
The only difference is that the rating agencies seem to have a large number of individual ratings, which are meaningless to the man on the Dalston omnibus, unless he’s a banker going home from the City.
Incidentally, we’re going to borrow £180 billion this year. if we were downgraded, that might cost us around £2 billion or even more.
So the downgrading of France has really dropped them dans le soupe! And President Sarkozy says we’re in a worse state than France, but then our rating hasn’t been cut and their’s has.
I liked this comment on The Times website under a detailed explanation of the downgrading.
Had it been us losing our AAA I can only imagine the very high level of spite, malice and vituperation which would be hurled our way from France. The French would have been having the time of their life! Yet the British government has not made any formal comment at all and the on-line comments have been remarkably restrained although I have to admit to just a modicum of schadenfreude.
We may not have made any official statement, but I suspect quite a few of the great and good are laughing in their beer tonight.
Boris on the Euro Crisis
Boris Johnson is always quotable, but this is one of his best.
The EU’s move to protect the euro might “save the cancer rather than the patient”.
Where would newspapers be without Boris?
The New Greek Bailout
Greece is the Pakistan of Europe.
It is corrupt, totally resistant to change and bankrupt in both a financial and moral sense. And as I pointed out earlier, they can’t even spell tax.
When a company goes bust, you put in administrators to see if they can sort out the mess.
Where are the administrators for Greece?
Let’s face it, I’m sure Disney could make a better job of running the Parthenon!
Comparing Texas and the EU
I found this on the web in a piece talking about the Texan use of the death penalty.
Luckily we don’t live in Texas, where they own around 51 million guns (more than all of the European Union combined) and the Encyclopedia Britannica is banned because it contains a formula for making beer.
The population of Texas is incidentally 24.7 million and that of the EU is 501.3 million. As to the Encyclopedia Britannica, I haven’t seen one in years and don’t know anybody who has one.
I’d be interested to know how many people are killed accidentally by guns in Texas every year.
The Anonymous Widower 