Merry Christmas

We would like to wish our readers a very merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you again in the new year.

It's Christmas Day All Is Secure

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
HE LIVED ALL ALONE
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE
NO TINSEL NO PRESENTS NOT EVEN A TREE
NO STOCKING BY THE MANTLE JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES AWARDS OF ALL KINDS
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT IT WAS DARK AND DREARY
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING SILENT ALONE
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER
NOT HOW I PICTURED A LONE BRITISH SOLDIER
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO THE FLOOR FOR A BED

I REALISED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT
SOON ROUND THE WORLD THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY

THEY ALL ENJOY FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY ALONE
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE
'SANTA DON'T CRY THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM I DON'T ASK FOR MORE
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY. MY CORPS'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT I CONTINUED TO WEEP

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SAT AND SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHTS CHILL
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD DARK NIGHT
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOUR SO WILLING TO FIGHT

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE
WHISPERED 'CARRY ON SANTA ITS CHRISTMAS DAY ALL IS SECURE'
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT'

THIS POEM WAS WRITTEN BY A PEACE KEEPING SOLDIER STATIONED OVERSEAS
THE FOLLOWING IS HIS REQUEST I THINK IT IS REASONABLE.

PLEASE WOULD YOU DO ME THE KIND FAVOUR OF SENDING THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN

CHRISTMAS WILL BE COMING SOON AND SOME CREDIT IS DUE TO OUR BRITISH SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN FOR OUR BEING ABLE TO CELEBRATE THESE FESTIVITIES.
LETS TRY IN THIS SMALL WAY TO PAY A TINY BIT BACK OF WHAT WE OWE!

YouGov shows UKIP closing gap on Lib Dems

YouGov's latest poll shows that UKIP is gaining on the Lib Dems.

On the 14th of November, YouGov had UKIP polling 4%, only 6% behind the Lib Dems.  On the 3rd of December they had UKIP polling 5%, only 5% behind the Lib Dems.

UKIP is already the second largest EU Parliament party and the fourth largest domestic party in the UK.  If YouGov's results are right, UKIP is on track to become the third largest domestic party in the UK and who could blame people from turning away from the Lib Dems (who are widely accepted to be the "none of the above" party) when they have betrayed the people who voted for them?

Today's students are tomorrow's workers and voters, how many of them are likely to vote for the Lib Dems who signed a pledge to oppose tuition fees in English universities and are now breaking that promise and actively campaigning for them?

The EU Knew the Scale of Greece, Ireland, Spain & Portugal's Economic Problems All Along

The European Union never ceases to amaze me. Not in a good way, but in a way that FIFA's attitude towards England never ceases to amaze me. On a quick side note, FIFA are nothing but a bunch of anglophobic fat cat self-proscribed Kings with little to no warranted involvement in football. But that's a different matter, I just needed to get that off my chest.

Flicking through a text book on the European Union a couple of tables catch my eye. One of which is the table for "The Cohesion Fund". It catches my eye because the only four countries which got the fund were the four countries that need or have had major bailouts. Bizarrely, they're even in the order of financial strife.

The Cohesion Fund was set up as a result of the Maastricht summit to provide funds for 'energy and telecommunications' for the poorest member states. Pre-2004 therefore, the European Union knew very well that taking on Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain would be a disastrously risky move. The only way to tackle economic problems, according to the EU is to simply throw money. In total nearly 3 billion Euros were given to just four countries.

These four countries, in 2003, accounted for over a quarter of the loans granted by the EU. This in real money, for the period of 1997-2003 means that these four countries were granted a whopping 45 billion Euros of loans. That's equivalent to 20 years of savings from coalition government cuts!

It doesn't end there. In 2003 there were only four countries that were net beneficiaries of their EU budget contributions. Those countries, yes you guessed it, were Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The UK got 3% LESS back from their EU budget contribution. The table below shows the percentage profit made by the four countries:

Greece, Spain and Portugal shouldn't be entirely blamed for the mess that they are in. The three countries, were very reluctant in joining the Euro so early, citing that they felt they were not economically ready. The EU Commission, didn't care. Nothing was going to stop their European dream. Ireland, on the other hand, were very eager beavers.

What strikes me the most about all of this data is that it is an outright lie that the European Union had no idea that the four countries would pose economical problems both for themselves as nation states and for the European Union. They knew even when bullying a reluctant Greece, Portugal and Spain in to the Euro that they were playing with fire.

It is that what frightens me the most about the European Union. That they put their own European Dream ahead of reality, the attitude of regardless we will go on.