DISTURBER FLIES WHICH DERECTION TO FLY WITHOUT DISTRUBING
April 19, 2011
Realities of True Finns astounding advance begin to sink in.
As I quoted around this time yesterday morning, "human beings have an infinite capacity for self-delusion", but yesterday's collective burying of heads in the sands was truly remarkable as EU federalists strove to pretend all was well and that the Portuguese bail out would continue as originally planned.
A bit similar to the fact that it took almost two weeks for the EU mainstream media to pick up on this blog's pointing out that the Finnish parliamentary approval for further bailouts was a looming executioner for the deranged plans of the EU's self-serving political leadership that is bringing untold misery to hundreds of millions of Europeans.
Articles bringing home the facts are from Mary Ellen Sinon in the Daily Mail, linked here and EurActivfrom here.
It is too close to call on the policies of the resultant Government, read here, with the True Finns slipping back into third place, since my last post yesterday evening, but only by the slimmest margin as may be seen in this chart:
Final Results:
National Coalition Party: 20.4% Social Democratic Party: 19.1% True Finns: 19.0% Centre Party: 15.8% Left Alliance: 8.1% Green League: 7.2% Swedish People’s Party: 4.3% Christian Democrats: 4.0% Pirate Party: 0.4% Others: 1.6%
The Portugal Bail Out (Normal EU skullduggery aside) must surely be sunk, with the Social Democrats and True Finns opposing any cash or debt transfers holding a combined 38.1% and huge support in the country, with the first and fourth bigger parties having 36.2%.
Any smaller party supporting more Bail Outs and making them possible will surely be committing eventual electoral suicide, whatever incentives may be offered from Brussels!
The Anti EU True Finns Party, with three quarters of the votes counted lead with 19.5% of the vote!
As this blog suggested last week the opinion polls ahead of the vote were clearly being rigged, in typical EU fashion.
Finally tonight, decent people across Europe, can see the prospect of a worthwhile future for themselves and their children? Thank - You Finland!
Latest results are as follows:
Results with 75.8% of vote counted: True Finns: 19.5% Social Democratic Party: 19.2% National Coalition Party: 18.6% Centre Party: 18.0% Left Alliance: 8.1% Green League: 6.1% Christian Democrats: 4.3% Swedish People’s Party: 4.2% Pirate Party: 0.4% Others: 1.6%
Have Cameron and Osborne lied about the EU Bail Out terms
I had the impression that only Finland had an absolute right to subject new payments from the EFSF (EU Bail Out Fund) to a parliamentary majority vote, giving an effective parliamentary veto to Finland.
According to a report from Sweden, published in the Financial Times this morning at 11:11, as filed by their Stockholm office by Andrew Ward, it appears all other governments contributing to the EFSF also hold a veto over any new expenditures.
This is not how David Cameron and George Osborne have described the situation, declaring they are locked in, even to payments to new countries, as a result of the decision by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, on which subject I have had much to say in the recent past!
The quote in the FT, which at the moment may be read from this link, which was referred to in the posting immediately beneath this, states:
This gives Finnish lawmakers a de facto veto because each use of bail-out funds requires unanimous EU approval (blog editor's added emphasis).
The Finnish election results are expected shortly after 1800 BST (1900 CET) today, according to a clearly thoroughly skittish and rattled report from the pro-big business and fanatically federalist-EU rag the Financial Times. A video report from Euronews/YouTube is here:
Finland's election - Day of reckoning for the Euro!
The polls are open across Finland and the Telegraph web page has just posted an interview with Timo Soini, the European Parliamentary colleague of UKIP's Nigel Farage, who just might soon hold the key to the halting of the march towards tyranny now fully under way across the EU, read here.
What a difference a year makes! Finns must ask before they vote - "Have we been stitched-up"?"
Think back a year and then ponder the following question - How come the Deputy Foreign Minister of Germany was yesterday able to make the following statement, as reported by Bloomberg, linked here:
Germany Would Back Greece Debt Restructuring, Hoyer Says
To assist in trying to untangle what has been going on over the past year readers may wish to consider this "Question and Answer" report issued by Reuters when the Greek crisis was first receiving Germany's attention.
A default by the Greek Government was then considered an impossibility!
So what has changed. In the interim billions has been spent by the EU's illegal EFSF and also by the IMF to prop up the Greek Economy. A year ago German banks were among those most at risk from a Greek default, is that still true today? How much at risk is the ECB compared with one year ago and how much of that new debt must now be met by Finland?
One year ago, this very Saturday, I posted on this blog a long discussion, linked here, of the crisis as it then appeared under the title:
Germans, Napalm and the Euro Currency.
The posting concluded with the following paragraphs, if the people of Finland do not heed this lesson when they go to the polls tomorrow, the rest of Europe will pay the price as the ridiculous and entirely pointless bail outs continue on to Portugal and thereafter Spain, just as that post predicted with despotism as the price:
Yesterday the European Commission, issued a Press Release marked "Rapide" demanding Economic Governance for the EU to be run by the unelected Commission and the appointed EU Council President Van Rompuy.
The EU is detested across the union by its own people as has been made clear in referendum after referendum. It is supported mainly by those in its pay or the inner circles of those in power in its former nation states and all their hangers-on. It is widely known as non-democratic and corrupt. Its Parliament is a mass of time-serving, expense gobbling pygmies who consistently regulate in matters they do not understand for want of anything better to do. We cannot allow the EU to impose the views of the economically strongest states on the less economically adept states, as such can only ultimately be imposed by force.
Europe does not want another jackboot on its throat as ALL Europeans must now remember the price to be paid in removing it. Read all there is in the raids on Royan! Consider the German launched missile attacks on Southern England when Germany already faced certain defeat!
This blog begs the good people of Germany and democrats everywhere to work to prevent a subsided, strings attached Eurozone or EU bail-out for Greece or any other of the PIIGS.
Devaluation under IMF control, following Euro withdrawal, can save Greece just as it did for Argentina.
The Euro is not worth saving when despotism is the certain price. The Euro, in fact cannot be saved now anyway, the economic facts are too stark. Therefore throwing away the freedoms of the people of Europe will be thus even more pointless. Instituting economic control across the EU, as demanded by the EU Commission yesterday will require force? They forget they have no consent nor any votes from the citizens of the EU!
Forexyard confirms this blogs prediction that Finland will block Portuguese bail out!
The posting from Forexyard is linked here and contains the suggestion that the Finnish Social Democrat party may come out against any rescue for Portugal before polling day on Sunday, in view of growing opposition to the earlier rescues for Greece and Ireland in the country at large.
Some commentators have even suggested that there would have been no parliamentary majority for a rescue package for Portugal even within the previous parliament.
As pointed out on this blog last weekend, Finland has the right to stop new bail outs under the EFSF in its Parliament. One small hope for some relief for Britain's taxpayers, see my post below! (Strange is it not that Finland has such a right while Britain, not even within the Eurozone, has no such right, are our politicians bought, blackmailed or just plain incompetent?)
This blog has previously pointed out the risks to the EU rescue funds from the rise of the True Finns party in the opinion polls prior to the General Election in Finland which concludes this Sunday.
The latest opinion poll shows this 'Anti-EU Bail Out' party falling to fourth place 16.9% versus the top placed National Coalition Party holding 20.2%. Note the narrow gap between these returns, particularly in the light of the following proviso provided by the newspaper publishing the poll, linked here, as follows:
The reliability of the HS Gallup, like that of other polls, is weaker now than in previous Parliamentary elections, and uncertainty is greatest in the numbers of the True Finns – at least four percentage points in either direction. The reason for the uncertainty is that with the recent sharp increase in support for the True Finns, the final decision that the voters make on Election Day could easily change.
In addition to their party preference, respondents to the poll were also asked about the certainty of their choice. Of all of those who have not yet voted, 32 per cent said that they might reconsider. Supporters of the Green League were the most uncertain, with 48 per cent saying that they might vote for another party in the end. Supporters of the Social Democrats and the Centre Party were found to be the most certain of their choice.
Given the fact that the EU, since the Gödöllö (Hungary) Declaration of 8 April 2011, has clearly turned from being merely non-democratic to being actively anti-democratic, is it not possible to discern clear polling manipulation where the True Finns, in fourth place, are merely 3.3% behind the leaders while they themselves are the ones chosen as subject to an accuracy margin of 4% either way. It seems that for the EU it is the headlines that count!
On these figures it appears obvious that there will be no Parliamentary majority for the imposed Portuguese bail out following Sunday's election. The Finnish Parliament will then be the next in line to be steam-rollered by the EU, following on from Britain (in signing on to the EFSF when no parliament was sitting) Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
A Helsinki paper gives some clarity to the chaos that next Sunday's elections in Finland seem likely to add to the now clearly crippled EU! The report may be read in full in English from this link, the crucial points appear in the paragraphs quoted here:
Katainen and Kiviniemi emphasised that the support of a majority in the Portuguese parliament would be a necessary prerequisite of the economic package. “This problem will be considered already when the package is put together”, Kiviniemi said. “Otherwise it will not be put forward”, Katainen insisted. The structure of the financial package is expected to be similar to that provided to Ireland. In it, the International Monetary Fund, the EU, and the eurozone countries take part in the financing according to the terms of the temporary stability mechanism, each with a one-third share.
Granting the guarantees to the stability mechanism requires the approval of the Finnish Parliament. Kiviniemi said that it is practically certain that the decision will be made by the new Parliament that is elected just over a week from now. The motion might have to be put forward by the government that is currently in office, as it is unlikely that a new government can be formed before Finland has to take a stand on the Portuguese bailout package. Kiviniemi said that she hopes to get “as wide support as possible” for the guarantees, if the present government has to deal with the matter as a caretaker government, which might not even have a Parliamentary majority behind it.
The Observer newspaper, from Britain, presents itsef as a serious journal, enter Portugal in the search box facility of its headline page this morning and you get this, one joint letter signed by a Professor from the University of Porto!
The Sunday Telegraph does little better with one short item under 'Gilts' and another similar under 'Economics', both posted early on yesterday. None care what the Sunday Times reports, cowering as it is behind the Murdoch pay wall, the political influence of which man (in our now fully corrupted democracy) is the subject of the Observer's main story, linked here.
Britain, it appears has ceased to be interested in democracy.
We must therefore rely on other news sources to discern the detail of the disaster for pan-European democracy that is rapidly gathering momentum across the EU. RTT News, linked here reports as follows:
EU ministers agreed to prepare the financial assistance package to Portugal immediately and to reach an agreement by mid-May.
The package will be provided on the basis of a policy programme which will be supported by strict conditionality and negotiated with the Portuguese authorities, duly involving the main political parties, according to a statement released after the European Union finance ministers meeting on Friday.
In considering the full nonsense contained in this statement, the following facts are crucial:
1. There are no Portuguese authorities with any constitutional legitimacy with whom to negotiate until after the General Election in June.
2. The Portuguese political parties who might be coerced into negotiations, as a result of such negotiations will be unlikely to be elected in the General Election, given the collapse of the previous government following its failure to push a similar austerity package through Parliament.
The General Election to be held in Finland on 17th April, will be the first hurdle in the evolving situation. Jyrki Katainen, the Finnish Finance Minister, who leads the party presently leading the polls, is walking a tightrope as can be seen from this video:
Click here, to see the details of the nine parties in contention in the Finnish elections to guage the impossibility of predicting whether, following the results, there will be a necessary majority in the Finnish Parliament to approve the Portugal package, let alone the earlier reforms to the EFSF and EFSM already supposedly agreed, read here.
Should Finland prove a stumbling block, following their election, then their parliament will likely prove the next victim of the bullying, anti-democratic actions of Ecofin. Portugal will then most likely gain a reprieve and temporary support pending a new Government taking power, which must surely have been all nation's expectation when signing up to the common currency?
As it is a Sunday morning, I cannot leave my weekend readers on such a gloomy note, so here is the new anthem I propose for the poor Finn (but like all EU Commissioners, thoroughly greedy and therefore fully deserving of his fate) in the middle, Olli Rehn, and the pathetic bunch of Finance Ministers from across the EU, who form the horror that is Ecofin:
Finland threatens upgrade of EFS! Euro trembles - Major Banking defaults loom!
The following report comes from Finfacts Ireland, linked here:
It's reported from Berlin that Chancellor Merkel plans to propose that Germany €22bn contributions to the new €500bn rescue fund be stretched over five years rather than four as agreed two weeks ago.
Meanwhile Finland has dissolved its parliament and will hold a general election on April 17 and is unable to make any decisions on the bailout fund. The right-wing True Finns party, which opposes measures to help embattles countries of the single currency area is expected to do well.
In the Irish Times, further explanation, linked here, on the existing bail out scheme the EFSF, points out:
The EFSF is backed by €440 billion worth of guarantees from euro zone countries but its lending power is limited to €250 billion as a condition of the triple-A credit rating it relies on to secure favourable borrowing rates. This is because only six of the 17 euro zone countries – including Germany and Finland – are beneficiaries of AAA rating.
EU leaders want to increase its lending capacity to €440 billion as part of a new “grand bargain” for the euro zone and most of them, particularly the triple-A countries, agree this should be done by increasing the fund’s guarantees.
But Finland’s centre-right government, under pressure as support rapidly grows for the Eurosceptic True Finns, has refused to increase its guarantees and is not expected to agree an increase at this summit.
Published on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 by The Providence Journal (Rhode Island)
Lessons From Finland: The Way to Education Excellence
by Walt Gardner
When Finland’s 15-year-olds recently placed No.1 in math and science on the recent Program for International Student Assessment, the news of the coup was received in Helsinki with characteristic reserve. For the Finns, whose schools are considered the best in the world, the scores stood as a redundant confirmation of the success of their policies.
But in the U.S., the frustration was palpable. Despite persistent attempts to bring equity to the wildly uneven quality of our schools, reformers have not been able to produce the intended results. That’s why they’ve begun to look even more closely in this presidential election year at Finland for lessons that can be applied here. What they will find in the end serves as a cautionary tale for strategies that we proudly consider cutting edge.
At the heart of Finland’s stellar reputation is a philosophy completely alien to America. The country of 5.3 million in an area twice the size of Missouri considers education an end in itself - not a means to an end. It’s a deeply rooted value that is reflected in the Ministry of Education and in all 432 municipalities. In sharp contrast, Americans view education as a stepping stone to better-paying jobs or to impress others. The distinction explains why we are obsessed with marquee names, and how we structure, operate and fund schools.
The headlines notwithstanding, misconceptions about Finland’s renown as an educational icon abound. The Finns spend a meager (compared to the U.S.) $5,000 a year per student, operate no gifted programs, have average class sizes close to 30, and don’t begin schooling children until they are 7. Moreover, Finland is not the homogeneous nation of lore. While still not as diverse as the U.S., the number of immigrant students in Helsinki’s comprehensive schools is exploding, with their numbers expected to constitute 23.3 percent of the city’s schools by 2025. At present, about 11 percent are immigrants, compared with just 6 percent in 2002. According to the City of Helsinki Urban Facts, by 2015 there will be schools with more than half of the student body from abroad.
Not surprisingly, in a land where literacy and numeracy are considered virtues, teachers are revered. Teenagers ranked teaching at the top of their list of favorite professions in a recent survey. Far more graduates of upper schools in Finland apply for admission to teacher-training institutes than are accepted. The overwhelming majority of those who eventually enter the classroom as a teacher make it a lifelong career, even though they are paid no more than their counterparts in other European countries.
One of the major reasons for the job satisfaction that Finnish teachers report is the great freedom they enjoy in their instructional practices. As long as they adhere to the core national curriculum, teachers are granted latitude unheard of in the U.S. The scripted lesson plans that teachers here are increasingly being expected to follow would be rejected out of hand as an insult by teachers in Finland and by their powerful union, which has a growing membership of some 117,500 members.
If none of these facts are enough to raise doubts about the policies the U.S. has in place or on the drawing board, Finland’s testing practices should raise a final red flag. The Finns do not administer national standardized tests during the nine years of basic education. Instead, the National Board of Education assesses learning on the basis of a sample representing about 10 percent of a stipulated age group. Individual school results are strictly confidential, and schools are neither ranked nor compared. The data collected are available only to the schools in question and to the National Board of Education, which use them to help improve instruction. The naming and shaming that No Child Left Behind relies on in its obsession with quantification would be unthinkable.
What ultimately emerges from studying Finland is the realization that the reform movement in America is based on a business model fundamentally at odds with the education model used by a country with the world’s finest schools. While it’s always risky to attempt to apply findings from one country to another, particularly when the two are so different, it’s a mistake to turn our backs on Finland’s approach.
Walter Gardner taught English for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the University of California at Los Angeles Graduate School of Education.
