Just leave the Empire. One afternoon's repealing of a few acts and that's all it takes.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Britain says "No"
Just leave the Empire. One afternoon's repealing of a few acts and that's all it takes.
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15 comments:
Well, Italy's opinion is somewhat easy to understand. Right now, they have the first more-or-less stable government, that's lasted any length of time, since 1946. They may be giving the EU too much of the credit, though.
Benelux is also easy to figure out. They either get to run everything (Be), get financial aid (Ne), or run the banks (Lux). It's a win-win for all three.
As for the other top-rankers in the "The EU is All Right" stakes, you may notice they are mainly former Warsaw pact countries. It may just be the fact that after being part of the ramshackle Soviet Empire, even one run by a bunch of Mr. Beans in Brussels looks like an improvement.
cheers
eon
My country is VERY suspicious, but most Finns consider membership in EU as the way of the least nuisance.
This article might be of interest. MEP Timo Soini, the chairman of True Finns Party, gives an interview of the unresponsive attitude of the True Finns on the bailout package of the PIGS countries. It has been published in Wall Street Journal.
But WSJ has censored the article. The chapters and sentences omitted off the original speech are marked with boldtext. Soini really doesn't spare his words: his speech is a rude awakening into Capitalism and how the little guy is always screwed, no matter what the big guys do.
Mistress, Why is it you hate capitalism so? Do you like being paid fairly for work you do? Then you're a capitalist. You don't hate yourself, do you? Do you like being able to buy the car, or the house, or the appliances you want to buy? Or has your benevolent government told you what you can or cannot buy? Do you prefer to have a faceless bureau tell you what you can purchase, where you can live, how much you can eat, what you have to pay, where and from whom you can obtain medical care, how much of the fruits of your labor you can keep? Do you enjoy it when people have such control over you?
A capitalist does not have the power to tell you to buy his product, or that if you do not bend to his will you will be fined heavily or even thrown in jail. With him you can either buy his product, or not, your choice. Can the same be said about your government?
Mistress, God gave you a mind - probably a fine mind, I'll wager. Use it for something more than as a regurgitator of the standard statist claptrap.
Capitalism means that the little guy gets screwed. Always.
The Commies lied about Communism, but they told the truth about Capitalism.
And no, I am no friend of etatism either. I have enough many friends who have served in my country's armed forces that I have a pretty good idea on what it is to live under the watchful, disciplined eye of the Big Brother.
You apparently didn't read the story behind the link, did you?
Mistress, You need to apply reason and experience with a liberal dose of history to the articles you get your information from. As you know, insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting different results. Take communism/socialism (briefly, statism). Any time a small ruling class claims divine or intellectual right to rule over their fellow man, unless we're talking God, despotism and tyranny result. Why do you think Russia was so poor? Why do you think Europe is declining? Why do you think the US is becoming a laughingstock that no one is taking seriously?
Yet until quite recently, the US was the powerhouse of the world, the standard to aspire to, with more opportunity and wealth for the "common" man and woman than any other place at any time on earth. Why do you suppose that is? If you had lived in the US, you'd know. If you wanted your fellowman to succeed, you'd understand. If you can't understand, I mourn for you, because so many seem incapable of loving their fellows enough to want all men and women to succeed, not merely a self-appointed ruling class.
Mistress, You need to apply reason and experience with a liberal dose of history to the articles you get your information from.
You apparently didn't read the link I provided.
It is about how Wall Street Journal mutilated, sanitized and bowdlerized the interview of MEP Timo Soini. It is about censorship. MEP Soini did not spare his words about the corruption of the EU system. WSJ censored those words away.
If you cannot trust the megaphone of Capitalism - WSJ, then whom can you trust?
statism). Any time a small ruling class claims divine or intellectual right to rule over their fellow man,
And exactly what is the difference with Capitalism?
It really doesn't matter whether that small ruling class is formed by violence (nobility), religion (clergy), education (intelligentsiya), family (nepotism), relations (cronyism) or money (capitalism). When unchecked, such elite will form anyway. The result is always the same: the small guy gets screwed.
This world is like designed for psychopaths. The most impudent, psychopathic, power-hungry and unscrupulous will always rise up on high position, regardless to system. What makes you think Plutocracy is any different from, say, Socialism?
Or as we say in Finland: the massa is a massa even in the Hell.
Why do you think Russia was so poor?
Why do you think Russia is still poor - after twenty years of fall of Communism? Who benefits from it?
Why do you think Europe is declining?
Why do you think the rich here are getting filthy rich, the middle class is getting nowhere and the poor are getting dirt poor? Hint: it isn't Socialism. Why do you think our jobs are being outsourced to China and India and why do you think there is a tsunami of poor, illiterate, uneducated and cheap foreign workforce everywhere in Europe? Hint: it has nothing to do with Etatism.
Why do you think the US is becoming a laughingstock that no one is taking seriously?
Why do you think US has become the wrecking yard of the world economy instead of the powerhouse? Why do you think US has deindustrialized heavily and the middle class has eroded - and the gap between the middle class and ultra-rich has opened into a rift valley?
Hint: It has something to do with the Mean Party and the Flaky Party and their groups of interest...
Post removed because of profanity. Keep it clean, guys.
Mistress, You need to apply reason and experience with a liberal dose of history to the articles you get your information from. As you know, insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting different results. Take communism/socialism (briefly, statism). Any time a small ruling class claims divine or intellectual right to rule over their fellow man, unless we're talking God, despotism and tyranny result. Why do you think Russia was so poor? Why do you think Europe is declining? Why do you think the US is becoming a laughingstock that no one is taking seriously?
Yet until quite recently, the US was the powerhouse of the world, the standard to aspire to, with more opportunity and wealth for the "common" man and woman than any other place at any time on earth. Why do you suppose that is? If you had lived in the US, you'd know. If you wanted your fellowman to succeed, you'd understand. If you can't understand, I mourn for you, because so many seem incapable of loving their fellows enough to want all men and women to succeed, not merely a self-appointed ruling class.
(Original reply sent Wednesday, 11 May 2011 14:29:00 PDT)
Mistress, You need to apply reason and experience with a liberal dose of history
Let's say there is no use on teaching Realpolitik to Finns.
Our country occupies this nice little piece of land between the Shrieking Sixties and Screaming Seventies. The climate is unfit for any intelligent life half a year and life here is a tough job to do. To cream the cake, our country was nicely located between the Imperialist Bloc and Bolshevist Bloc, with both sides apparently attempting to nuke us.
I know perfectly well the Communists wanted to conquer us and Capitalists wanted to purchase us away. Neither succeeded.
Being a member of EU is no wine and roses. Still it is the least evil to all other choices. The way of the least nuisance. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. We paid it four times last century. Twice against Russians, once against Germans and once against our own Reds.
As you know, insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting different results. Take communism/socialism (briefly, statism).
What makes you think Capitalism was any better?
Capitalism is not about charity. It is about maximizing profits. Capitalism is no fairness. It is about squeezing the little guy dry, milking him out of his assets and throwing him away. Capitalism is in every bit just as brutal, ruthless and cruel economic system as any.
Any time a small ruling class claims divine or intellectual right to rule over their fellow man,
What makes you think Capitalists were any better? No matter if that ruling class is based on physical violence (nobility), education (intelligentsia), religion (clergy), family ties (nepotism), relations (cronyism) or economy (plutocrats), the result is always the same: the little guy gets screwed.
Why do you think Russia was so poor?
Why do you think Russia is still so poor, after twenty years of transition into Capitalism? (Hint: Who benefits?)
Why do you think Europe is declining? Why do you think the US is becoming a laughingstock that no one is taking seriously?
Because it is interest of Capitalists to Brazilify Europe and US into filthy rich and dirt poor. Impoverished Westerners would make meek, humble and obedient workforce for sweatshops.
Why do you think all this outsourcing, deindustrializations, immigration from undeveloped countries and destruction of everything the little guy has managed to struggle for himself during the past century?
Why do you suppose that is?
Because of Capitalism. The insatiable greed, avarice, lust and desire to hoard as the property of the Plutocrats.
Capitalism is like fire: good servant but an awfully bad master.
If you can't understand, I mourn for you, because so many seem incapable of loving their fellows enough to want all men and women to succeed, not merely a self-appointed ruling class.
Capitalism is not about charity. It is a dog-eat-dog world where only the impudent, immoral, unscrupulous, avaricious, greedy and ungodly prosper and the little guy always gets screwed.
That it always has been and always will be. The rich get filthy rich, middle class gets nowhere and poor get dirt poor. Capitalism is that and nothing else.
If you didn't know, economy is warfare, and Capitalism is war without violence on its purest.
Mistress, it is enjoyable using this forum to communincate with you. (Thanks again, David!)
Unfortunately, your view of the world is too narrow, your scope of thought too small. Wait - Do not be offended! This is not your fault. It is the way of natural man and woman.
You see, the two of us approach the world from different perspectives. For 29 years (well, less than that; when I was a child I could hardly be said to think in a "mature" way) I thought much as you. However, when I accepted Christ's gift of life my entire perspective of life was changed. You may recall that in one of my posts I asked you to read the Bible for yourself. If you do, you will note that it presents the world with a totally different perspective than is to be found in your typical mass-media culture. David, Eon, and Sergej have a glimpse of that perspective. I am not saying they have had the renewal of mind that comes from giving one's life over to Christ, only they can tell you that, but they do have a perspective based in the Christian world view, which is evident in their writings, whether they are Christians or not.
So ultimately we do not have capitalism against statism, but rather the fleshly perspective (trusting in the weak arm of the flesh) or the Godly perspective (trusting in the One who created all things - Including all life). And we must ask: Will we trade our freedom from other men's rule for an illusory safety they promise but cannot deliver on?
Does this seem foolish to you? I'm not offended if it does; it is not from me - the Bible tells us that the wisdom of God is foolishness to man. And Mistress, the only wisdom I can offer is when I accurately reflect what God has revealed to all of us.
So what it comes down to is this: Any form of government, if only exercised by human power, will be tyrannical. It is only when we see that we are all accountable to the One who made us that we can see that we owe Him allegiance, and we stop trying to gain the temporal power of this world that is as fleeting as the wind, as transitory as the morning mist.
No one has to tell you what is in peoples' hearts. You do not have to train a child to be bad. He comes by it naturally. The child must be trained to be good - he must be taught to put others before himself, to treat them as he wishes to be treated. But if he does not have a standard, and if he is his highest authority, he cannot truly learn to see others as his equals, or love his fellows as the creations of an all-knowing Creator. So in this sin-sick world, you will find that those who want to utilize their talents to glorify their Creator, to benefit themselves, their families, their fellows, will want you to prosper too. They will not try to control you. And that can be very refreshing in a world of petty politics. That is one of the reasons I enjoy visiting Ephemeral Isle - It's good to read from people who think, instead of merely regurgitating the party line.
In closing, and back to our political discussion, I want to leave you with a thought from a late, great American statesman: "It all comes down to this basic premise: if you lose your economic freedom, you lose your political freedom and in fact all freedom. Freedom is something that cannot be passed on genetically. It is never more than one generation away from extinction. Every generation has to learn how to protect and defend it. Once freedom is gone, it's gone for a long, long time. Already, too many of us, particularly those in business and industry, have chosen to switch rather than fight.
We should take inventory and see how many things we can do ourselves that we've come to believe only government can do."
Wesley, now you are not speaking of the joys and merits of Capitalism. You are speaking of the joys and merits of Christianity.
The problem is that Capitalism and Christianity are mutually incompatible. Their basic assumptions of the humanity are contradictory. Christianity assumes debts are eventually forgiven. Capitalism assumes debts are never forgiven.
Then again, when you combine Christianity - I mean, Lutheranism - with the Socialist ideals, you get the Scandinavian way. And it works, no matter what is said about it. I remember reading the Reader's Digest and it predicted the collapse of Swedish model already in the sixties. Didn't occur. Sweden is still going fairly strong. Unfortunately, the secularization of the Nordic countries has undermined their moral foundation.
If I was an Atheist, I would claim "an economic system which requires believing in a fairy tale to have it working is not much worth of trying". Then again, take that fairy tale away from the economic system and you will get a true dog-eat-dog world which is like designed for psychopaths, impudent swindlers and crooks. I am not an Atheist, though; I am into Agnosticism.
And then again, each and every attempt on building a godless society has always ended up in a catastrophe. Nazism led world in WWII. The French Revolution broke the moral backbone of the French nation and it has never recovered from it. Communism was pure disaster. And now the global Capitalism where the morals are neatly compartmentalized away as a separate entity from the cold reality of maximizing the profits is about to render the world into filthy rich and dirt poor and wither the middle class away.
I don't like Christianity. My nation was forcibly converted to it hundreds of years ago and I find it logically incoherent as a belief system. Judaism makes much more sense. Then again, the various flavours of Paganism do not appeal too much and Islam is sheer horror. The little engineer inside me makes me to seek the way of the least nuisance.
I am a pessimist, cynic and jaded. Yet I am no Nihilist. The smallest minority in the society is individual and the basic building block is family. It is just that everything starts from the family. The hope is in our children.
Mistress, sorry this has been so long in coming. I haven’t given myself time to visit Dave’s blog lately as I prefer to do. Tyranny of the urgent, and all that. I won’t try to respond point by point, but here’s a broad stroke coming. Think about what you’ve written, and you’ll recognize the fallacy inherent in the thought process.
Although we see in Acts that the apostles and new believers tried for a time to have all things common, that didn’t work very well or last very long. For all we know, that’s the way business will be conducted in Heaven. But that doesn’t work well here on earth. Why do you suppose that is?
I submit a possibility to you: Christ, the God-man, did everything His Father asked of Him perfectly. He was the only One to ever live a perfect life on this earth, without sin, in perfect service. (And He was killed for it! Thank God that’s not where it ended…) However, we are not Him. Even His children, Christians (little Christs, and I’m not talking in name only) are sinners. We sin because it is our nature, and we never shed that nature as long as we live in these bodies. This is not God’s fault, it is our heritage that our original parents passed on to each generation. So maybe socialism works if each of us does and loves precisely as we ought. I don’t know; no one can, since that is not the world we live in. This “real” world is full of selfish people who wish to impose their will on their fellows. In this world, one system works effectively, and has been proven to trump all others: Mutual benefit.
Let’s say David builds better houses than anyone in his community. Other people, who – and this is key - because they are free to use their time to build their wealth without stealing from others, because they benefit others and are not “legally” robbed by their government or illegally by other miscreants – can afford David’s houses, buy David’s houses, because he builds them so well. David’s community is thriving for the aforementioned reasons. People who buy David’s houses tell their friends. Their friends want David’s houses for themselves as well. David soon has so much work he hires others to help him build houses. David is doing well, and he’s a man who knows God and tries to follow the golden rule, so he pays his people fairly. Soon he’s opening offices in other communities and other facilities so other people who didn’t have the opportunity can have a house built to the Dave standard. Meanwhile, Dave has built wealth for those in his employ and his entire community is better off, and he has even helped others outside his community.
Same is true of Eon, if he makes great widgets. And Sergej, if he’s a great painter. However, if everyone around them is poor, Eon and Sergej can’t ply their crafts to their fullest because they’ll be too busy doing menial work to merely eek out a living. They might never be able to develop their talents.
(Continued)
Okay, you’re saying this is how monopolies get started. If we indulge our sinful nature and try to drive out others we feel we might not be able to compete with, this can happen. But again, we all have God-given talents and abilities. If we utilize them to benefit others and ourselves, which is what God asks of us, then there is room for all of us. This is a big world, in spite of what the Disney song tells us! One aspect of our nature is competition. Competition is good, and not only in athletics. It makes us stronger (I’m not talking just physically, now) and allows us to develop better ways of doing things to improve the state of the art – Whatever that art may be. And to discover new arts.
Let’s use another example: if you’re a more talented writer than most anyone, you want wealthy people who are willing to give you some of their wealth because they want to read what you’ve written and they are willing to give you some of what they have in return for what you give to them. You’re not stealing from them, and voile, you’re a capitalist! Are you evil?
This is how God has designed the world. As He says in His Word, when those who do His work in this world go Home to be with Him, He will tell them well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord. So if God grants us rewards for what we do with the abilities He gives us that glorify Him, shouldn’t we give of what we have for those who do good things for us? Just as God loves a cheerful giver, and does not want sacrifice given of necessity, don’t you suppose God wants us to give willingly to those who bless us? How do you suppose the tradition of Christmas giving was started? Was it not through the gifts of the three wise men, who gave cheerfully and not of necessity to the newborn Savior out of the bounty God gave them, that we give to each other to celebrate the greatest Gift? And if God blesses us with earthly wealth, how better can we use it to reward others for the gifts God has given them which bless us?
Again, what it boils down to is this: Whenever we try to control others, it’s bad. That’s tyranny. That’s slavery. Whenever we try to benefit others, it benefits them and us. Some call that capitalism. Forget all the “ism”s. Let’s be pragmatic, take off our rose – and – statist colored glasses, and look at the way the world works.
(Finished... For now...)
OOPS! Shouldn't it be "viola"?
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