WELCOME

Hi,
The aim of this blog is to accrue information that may be of help to you & links to other sites I have found of help, including sites run or managed by friends and associates.
Do send me a message of anything you feel would help.
Regards, Greg L-W.
Greg_L-W@BTconnect.com

Sunday 29 March 2009

#G082* - 6mph & The Judge In The Slammer

#G082* - 6mph & The Judge In The Slammer

Australian ex-judge jailed for speeding fine lies

Former Australian federal court judge Marcus Einfeld is seen here during a protest against government!

SYDNEY (AFP) – A high-profile former Australian judge who claimed his dead friend was driving his car when it was photographed speeding has been jailed for three years.

Marcus Einfeld, 69, who lied to avoid a 75-dollar (72 US dollar) fine for travelling 10 kilometres per hour (6.25 miles per hour) over the speed limit, was convicted of perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The founder of Australia's Human Rights Commission, recognised by the United Nations for his activist work, Einfeld had suffered "a very public destruction," judge Bruce James said.

He was stripped of his Queens Counsel title for bringing shame upon the legal profession and his crimes struck "at the heart of the administration of justice", James told the Supreme Court here.

"Any lawyer, and especially a lawyer who has been a barrister and judge who commits such an act ... would have been fully aware of the gravity of his conduct."

A Federal Court judge for 15 years, and barrister in England and Australia for more than 20, Einfeld swore on oath that he had not been behind the wheel of his car when it was snapped by a speed-camera in Sydney in 2006.

James said that in an act of "deliberate and premeditated perjury", Einfeld blamed US academic Teresa Brennan for the fine, saying he had lent her the car.

When a newspaper journalist discovered through an Internet search that Brennan had died three years earlier, Einfeld then claimed it was a different woman with the same name, and said he had an alibi.

It was "calculating criminality", said James, which was all for the sake of avoiding demerit points which could eventually lead to him losing his driver's licence, and avoiding the fine.

"Oh, the bags are packed," was all Einfeld had to say to weeping family members as he was taken away by prison officials. He will be eligible for release in 2011.


To view the original article CLICK HERE

Who's a silly boy then!

Saturday 14 March 2009

G081* - A LIGHT TO LIGHTEN THE GENTILES + MERCURY SAID GENESIS Chap. 1


G081* - A LIGHT TO LIGHTEN THE GENTILES + MERCURY SAID GENESIS Chap. 1

& it arrived in the 21st. Century - Hazard Warning & All

DANGERS OF LOW ENERGY LIGHTBULBS

DANGER: energy-saving lightbulbs


Saturday March 14, 2009


By Penny Stretton


SERIOUS concerns were raised yesterday about the toxic effects of energy-saving lightbulbs.
Doctors say scores of people are coming forward with skin complaints after being exposed to the ultra-violet light emitted by the new-style bulbs. And the mercury powder inside them makes handling a broken bulb extremely dangerous.


Exposure to high levels of mercury can cause itching, burning, skin inflammation, kidney problems and insomnia.


Alarming guidelines issued by the Government warn that anyone breaking a low-energy bulb should leave the room immediately.


The guidelines, published on the Defra website, say: “Vacate the room and ventilate it for at least 15 minutes.


“Do not use a vacuum cleaner but clean up using rubber gloves and aim to avoid creating and inhaling airborne dust.”

If thousands of CFL bulbs were sent to landfill this could pose a problem

Dr Michelle Bloor
The debris must be disposed of at a secure site for contaminated material or returned to the retailer.


Last night experts claimed the Government had not done enough to make people aware of the dangers of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).


EU rules mean all old incandescent lightbulbs must be phased out by 2012. But the green measure could backfire and end up harming the environment.


Dr Michelle Bloor, of Ports mouth University, said: “If thousands of CFL bulbs were sent to landfill this could pose a problem. Mercury could leak and get into the food chain.

“Mercury cannot escape from an intact lamp. But people must try to avoid contact with it if they do break one.


“The problem is that many councils do not know the correct guidelines for disposing of the lamps. Only six out of 17 we spoke to knew the rules.”


Gerrard Fisher, of recycling group Wrap, said: “Mercury is a dangerous material. Consumers have to be careful.”


Fears that CFLs and halogen lamps can cause migraine, epilepsy and eczema have already been raised. People who suffer from Lupus, a disorder which leaves them housebound bec ause they cannot be exposed to light, are also reporting a flare-up of their condition.
Dr Robert Sarkany, consultant dermatologist at Kings College London, said: “Reactions to fluorescent lights are not well understood. But I am seeing regular handfuls of patients who are complaining of skin allergies when exposed to them, as are my colleagues.


“Common symptoms are severe stinging, burning and itching of the skin, along with red rash. We don’t understand these symptoms well yet, but they do exist. I think it would be perfectly reasonable for people who suffer these very serious problems to still have access to traditional bulbs.”


Lupus sufferer Brenda Ryder, 56, of the Isle of Wight, said: “A total ban on incandescent lighting would be terrible for me.”


Labour MP Janet Dean has raised the issue with ministers. “The Department of Health is looking into it,” she said.


The Main Stream Meeeeja Play Catchup CLICK HERE

For our original detailed article CLICK HERE

May I suggest you write a letter on the subject to your local MP although he/she has absolutely no say over much beyond what they squander your money on for their expenses - try your MEP since the Government in Brusells makes virtually all the law for Britain but there again your MEPs have no say and are just massively bribed to sell the concept to you.

This leaves only the option of letters to local and national meeeja and voting on June 54th. and every election afterwards by NOT wasting your vote on a politician but write on your Ballot Paper for the restoration of OUR democracy:

LEAVE THE EU

Friday 13 March 2009

#G080* - JUST HANGING ABOUT & GENTLY SPINNING

#G080* - JUST HANGING ABOUT & GENTLY SPINNING

Politicians never ever lie. They have a talent for telling the truth that makes it unnecessary to fabricate anything!!!

Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher here in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Congressman Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

US Senator Harry Reid



The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.
On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'

So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.

Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:

'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad.

In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honour when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'


NOW THAT's how it's done, Folks!
That's real POLITICAL SPIN.

Boy could EUkip use these staffers instead of the duplicitous liars they currently have!

Regards,

Greg L-W.

Wednesday 11 March 2009

#G079* - THE SCIENCE OF GETTING YOUR HAND IN THE TILL!

#G079* - THE SCIENCE OF GETTING YOUR HAND IN THE TILL!

Hi,

I just read through this thread at CLICK HERE.

In your search for truth as a product of a biased education and broadcast system:

One point I believe you overlook is that a large percentage of so called science is grant funded - thus to obtain grants you are required toi accept required wisdoms!

Have you read the appendix to the IPPC report? You will note they clearly state the report is unsound!

Have you noted that many of the scientists whose names are appended in fact stated it was bunkum. Are you aware that many of the scientists have demanded their name be removed!

Have you read the Oregon Declaration? Signed as I recall by 17,500 scientists in the field of climatology in one way or anothrer who have denounced the principle of man made warming, of consequence.

Are you aware that CO2 increase lags temperature change, in the ice, soil and fossil records.

CAVEAT - listen to politicians closely! They conflate Climate change with global warming when NEITHER is based on unchallenged science. There may be no relationship between global warming & climate change or vica verca.

Follow the money!! You will find the mantras of Global change and climate warming have a greater similarity to a religion of Mamon than a science.

I suggest if you wish to enter sciences when you graduate (including teaching) you toe the Party line and tell the lies about Warming Globes and changing climates.

If you have no need of Grants nor Government employ you can tell the truth - as we drift towards a Maunder Minimum and be reminded the fossil/geological record would seem to indicate some 28 or 29 ice ages so far (some greater and some smaller).

Good luck (’cos you are going to be paying my pension if we survive the economic illiteracy and venal stupidity of our current politicians!)

Regards,
Greg L-W.
01291 - 62 65 62

I unfortunately forgot to point out:

01. That when I was born just after WWII there were 4-5,000 polar bears - they are now classified as an endangered species though there are between 25 & 27,000

02. The central bowl of Antarctica is the largest glacier in the world, sliding inexorably north to the Atlantic from the open ring of mountains which are to its Indian Ocean & Pacific rim. Not surprisingly the ice falls off the end of the glacier, the speed of which is predicated more by snow of 5 Centuries ago than temperature of today!

03. That the ice is melting to The Weddell seems unsurprising and so would you if you were seated on volcanic vents spewing magma!

04. Due to increased cold over the last few centuries Greenland is no longer Green and the North West Passage has been iced over.

Tuesday 10 March 2009

#G078* - THAT'S THE TROUBLE WITH CREATIONISM!

#G078* - THAT'S THE TROUBLE WITH CREATIONISM!

On the first day:

God created the dog and said:
'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past.
For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.
'The dog said:
'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'
So God agreed.
On the second day:

God created the monkey and said:
'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.
'The monkey said:
'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'
And God agreed.
On the third day:

God created the cow and said:
'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun and the rain, eat a diet of endless grass, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.
'The cow said:
'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day:
God created man and said:
'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'
But man said:
'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'
'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.
'So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.
For the next forty years we slave in the sun and the rain to support our family.
For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.
And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service (as an alternative to barking!).

Wednesday 4 March 2009

#G077* - The EU OPENS OUR BORDERS FOR A BARBARIAN HOARD


#G077* - The EU OPENS OUR BORDERS FOR A BARBARIAN HOARD

Hi,

it does look like history is about to repeat itself - but did we have to revert to the invasions of the dark ages due to the crass incompetence of our Politicians?

Not content with having serial economic illiterates and City Slickers who are merely self important professional Gamblers with delusions of grandure and pin stripe business boiler suits!

Not content with gambling they lacked the basic integrity to protect their clients and when they won on the tables they trousered huge bonuses and if there was profit left over they stole that too and put it in their pension funds! Did you ever hear of the crooks in the board rooms selling their houses or their childish cars etc. or refunding the bonus from the last good deal to bail out those whose money their incompetence had cost their clients?

The situation was not good and getting worse from the first relaxations of the soft communism of Harold Wilson and his visibly incompetent Government. Then in 1997 the staggering stupidity of Gordon Brown was let loose whilst the liar cheat and puppet Tiny Blur set out on his mission of showboating and betrayal on the international stage stuffing his pockets and 'gearing' his great game of war crimes and massacre.

The imbecilic Brown almost immediately surrendered control of the economy to the Bank of England in cahoots with their cronies in the banks. Not only were asset controls and financial regulation relaxed but brown set about systematicly selling off Britain's gold to fund his excesses and destroying the structure of the British Pound by buying into The EUro heavily.

It is not as if the collapse was not predicted - the gamblers with their tunnel vision, greed and other peoples' money just went on indulging in ever greater risk and hugely increased dishonesty - backing currency deals with little more than Monopoly Hotels and toilet paper. The Bankers may not have been able to foresee the inevitable collapse and the Politicians were far too self important to see their part in the destruction!

I and I'm sure others was regularly writing of and discussing just how terrible the collapse would be and how the longer it was avoided the greater it would be.

You may remember long before the staggeringly crass Margot Waldstrom was put in Goebbels' position as Propaganda Commissioner - I was writing of the 'potential' for 200,000,000 deaths in EUrope due to The Wars of Disassociation and the collapse of currency as a result of centralising control and competition, production and currency in just one febrile form - along came CAP, CFP, Gallileo, centralised EUropean airbus building, centralised EUro Failure Fighter, Centralised Police with EUroPol and a Rapid Repression Army AND THE ULTIMATE STUPIDITY: The EUro!!!

All so very predictable. So very predicted!!

Now we have the PROBABILITY of a failure of power production because of the idiocy of the new religion 'Wind Power', 'Tidal Power', 'Global Change', 'Climate Warming' (whatever) this has all lead to the catastrophic failure of not building power stations where the only realistic way of producing enough power in any viable and clean way as being Nuclear.

We start to slip into the age of the Barbarian as the power starts to fail and we are unable to fund the purchase of fuels. Power stands every probability of 'power outs' without warning within 2 years!

Increasingly due to the CAP & CFP's disasterous mismanagement of our agriculture and food stock needs there is already a notable increase stock theft such that farmers can not protect their stock cost effectively - not only did the deliberate damage of the British livestock industry by the EU with Foot & Mouth cause such harm but livestock numbers have continued to diminish party due to rising costs of feed, partly costs of bureaucracy and partly just disheartened by cheap imports able to profit from lower standards.

Now as Bruno Waterfield gently explains to his readers in The Telegraph - well he mustn't frighten them with too much truth!

Read his article but then read the actual hard nosed blackmail by the President of Hungary and the threat of a barbarian invasion of Western EUrope and particularly these United Kingdoms.

When last the Barbarian hoard reached the channel Britain was fortunate as we were protected by the sea and our National control of our borders.


New 'Iron Curtain' threatens to split Europe over economic crisis

Europe is in danger of being split by a new 'Iron Curtain' as the deepening economic crisis separates east from west, the EU has been told.

By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels Last Updated: 10:49PM GMT 01 Mar 2009

Hungarian protestor argues with riot police outside the Hungarian Parliament Photo: AFP
Hungary warned the growing split threatened to provoke outbreaks of social unrest and a flood of unemployed immigrants travelling to Western Europe in search of jobs.

Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Hungarian prime minister, called for a £169 billion bail-out of Eastern Europe to prevent a major crisis that would reverberate across the continent.

He spoke as nine Central and Eastern European countries – Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania – held an unprecedented breakaway summit before the meeting of all 27 EU member states in Brussels.

He said: "We should not allow a new iron curtain to be set up and divide Europe in two parts. This is the biggest challenge for Europe in 20 years. At the beginning of the 90s we reunified Europe. Now it is another challenge – whether we can unify Europe in terms of financing and its economy."

In a six-page letter to European leaders meeting for a crisis summit lunch, Mr Gyurcsany made dire predictions about the consequences of letting Eastern Europe, the EU's poorest countries, bear the brunt of a recession.

He warned that if EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe faced a severe downturn, then other European countries would feel the knock-on effect of social unrest and an influx of millions of migrants.

"A significant economic crisis in Eastern Europe would trigger political tensions and immigration pressures. With a Central and East European population of around 350 million of which 100 million are in the EU, a 10 per cent increase would lead to at least five million additional unemployed within the EU," he wrote.

Mr Gyurcsany went on to forecast "massive contractions in economic activity and large-scale defaults" with governments in Eastern Europe refusing to pay back up to £89bn of debts owed to Western European banks.

"A 10 per cent default rate on the Eastern European external loan book would put significant further strain on the solvency of the European banking sector, the capital impact would be at least EUR100bn," he said.

The summit ended with EU leaders saying they were determined to avoid protectionist moves in response to the economic crisis.

European Commission president José Manuel Barroso said: "There was consensus on the need to avoid any unilateral protectionist measures."

But Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, dismissed the call for an Eastern Europe aid fund, saying: "I see a very different situation among eastern countries, I do not advise going into the debate with massive figures."

The gathering followed a bitter row over protectionism and Eastern European fears that larger Western EU economies, especially France and Germany, were engaged in protectionist bailouts of national industries.

France and the Czech Republic, representing the West versus East split, have been at the centre of a deeply damaging row over economic protectionism.

When announcing a £2.7 billion (EUR3bn) aid package to French car makers Renault and Peugeot Citroen last month, President Nicolas Sarkozy implied that the cash was in exchange for a promise not to shut French plants or move to cheaper sites "in the Czech Republic or elsewhere".

Mirek Topolanek, the Czech Prime Minister and current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, warned against taking "beggar thy neighbour" protectionist measures as recession bites.

"This is the greatest crisis in the history of European integration," he said. "We do not want any new dividing lines. We do not want a Europe divided along a North-South or an East-West line; pursuing a beggar-thy-neighbour policy is unacceptable."

In a move to ease the tension, the European Commission declared itself satisfied with guarantees from Paris that the French plan to bail out its auto sector was not protectionist.
President Sarkozy insisted that accusations of French protectionism were "totally nonsensical things that do not reflect reality".

He claimed that the Czechs, and other countries, should be grateful for jobs in factories owned by French automobile makers.

"If we don't save the parent company then the subsidiaries will come down as well," he said. "You might well be surprised that we did not ask these countries whose friends we are, where these plants are in, not to help us in bailing out our automotive industry."

The French president insisted that the United States, rather than Europe, was the source of protectionist threats.

He said the situation in Europe meant no-one could accuse any country of being protectionist when the Americans had put up $30 billion (£21 billion) to support their automotive industry. "There, there is a risk of protectionism," he said.

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, who hosted the meeting, said: "All participants agree that in the time of crisis, maintaining solidarity in Europe is of paramount importance. We would like Europe to do everything to avoid the temptation of protectionism and egoism."


To view the original article in The Telegraph CLICK HERE

Non-paper Proposal for setting-up a Multilateral European Stabilization and Integration Program (ESIP) to support CEE economies

MULTILATERAL action required to prevent a second systemic shock CAUSED BY eastern europe
Despite cautious economic policies, Eastern Europe is being affected disproportionately by the global financial and economic crisis:

With only a few exceptions, economic policies in CEE have been conservative, e.g.: large national bank reserves; high compulsory bank solvency ratios; large-scale privatizations, including in the banking sector; relatively low public debt; low budget deficits

Open capital accounts, integration with the EU, and excessive global liquidity have led to an exceptionally large flow of funds to the region:1 EUR ~700 bn in international loans outstanding, and even larger amounts of cumulative foreign direct investment. This veritable tidal wave of money has been the main reason for the region’s low savings rates, large current account deficits (especially in South-East Europe, the Baltic states, and Ukraine), asset price bubbles, and substantial balance sheet risks in case of devaluation. These conservative economic policies in most CEE countries have led to a longer-than-usual maturity structure for these flows (e.g., intra-group and long-term debt)

Long-term investments and funding in Eastern Europe have led to significant acceleration of economic integration with the EU. However, the resulting high export quota2 has created a sensitive dependency on the EU, which is becoming particularly apparent in the current recessionary environment.

Failure to act could cause a second round of systemic meltdowns that would mainly hit Eurozone economies:
Central Europe’s (re)financing needs in 2009 could total EUR ~300 bn (~30% of the region’s GDP). Partial failure to refinance could lead to massive contractions in economic activity and large-scale defaults

A major crisis in Eastern Europe would have global systemic effects:

A 10% default rate on the Eastern European external loan book (at the lower range of previous emerging market crises) would put significant further strain on the solvency of the European banking sector; the capital impact would be at least EUR ~100 bn, or ~10% of European banks’ cumulative tier-1 capital
A 30% drop in the region’s imports would reduce global turnover by
EUR ~150 bn and European GDP by ~ 1%
A significant economic crisis in Eastern Europe would trigger political tensions and immigration pressures (with a CEE population of ~350 million, of which 100 million are in the EU, a 10% increase in unemployment would lead to at least 5 million additional unemployed people within the EU).
Despite clear vulnerabilities, no effective stimulus or rescue package has been put in place so far, mainly due to an exceptionally complex stakeholder situation:

Financial intervention (e.g., liquidity provisions, interest rate cuts, capital increases) is largely ineffective:
A few Western European banking groups (domiciled primarily in Austria, Italy, and Greece) have accumulated most of the foreign debt exposure to the region. These groups are currently aggressively deleveraging their subsidiaries, as their central balance sheets are vulnerable3
Interest rate cuts and liquidity provisions could lead to capital flight and currency devaluations, further aggravating the balance sheet situation
National governments, whether in CEE or Western Europe, are struggling to find an angle to tackle European banking groups’ exposure across the region as a whole
Local governments cannot independently launch economic stimulus programs because of the high capital flight risk in the event of large budget deficits or reduced national reserves.

A COMPREHENSIVE multilateral EUROPEAN Stabilization and Integration Program (ESIP) should be LAUNCHED
Despite the challenges mentioned above, we strongly believe in the economic strength of the region and its prospects within the European economic system. In an effort to forestall possible grave economic impact, we are proposing to design and launch a European Stabilization and Integration Program (ESIP), with the following objectives:

Rebuild trust, by implementing support programs tailored to each country, but coordinated in a single transparent framework

Enable a sustainable integration trajectory by offering faster integration with the Eurozone to countries successfully implementing the program, while repairing excessive imbalances and strengthening productivity growth

Ensure transparency and ongoing oversight.
We would consider the following design principles to be critical when establishing the cornerstones of the ESIP:

Maximum economic and social impact. The financial resources activated should target areas of economic activity that will provide the highest economic multiplier (through increases in GDP) as well as positive social impact, with the lowest cross-the-cycle net cost
Fairness and equitability. The distribution of financial resources should be based on objective criteria, and the upside should be shared with fund providers
Transparency and accountability. The initial distribution of funds must be followed by strict control of secondary disbursements by local governments and financial institutions to ensure real impact
Minimal moral hazard. Shareholders and governments should bear the consequences of their own past decisions. This is especially important in the today’s very diverse situation of both individual banks (banking groups) and national economies. More prudent players should not be levied the same costs as bigger risk takers. Economically and financially more stable countries should not carry the same costs as countries with riskier and more unbalanced economic policies in the recent past.
Market driven. Secondary disbursements must be driven by market forces in the respective CEE economies, not by local political objectives.
The main elements of the proposed program are:
Establish an ESIP Recovery and Solvency Framework to boost solvency and remove non-performing loans from the CEE banking sector while facilitating effective recovery
Establish an ESIP Fund to provide emergency liquidity and capital to the banking system. The funding would come from the IMF, the World Bank, and EU institutions (including the ECB and the EBRD/EIB), with their roles clearly split
Establish an ESIP Multi-Year Stabilization Plan to reduce imbalances, including a clear and aggressive timetable for Euro adoption in EU and candidate countries and FX debt risk reduction in other countries.
1) Establish a robust ESIP Recovery and Solvency Framework

The ESIP Recovery and Solvency Framework would regulate four key areas, with the objective of establishing a sound legal basis for strengthening the financial sector as well as corporate and household balance sheets:

Strengthen collateral recovery and bank insolvency legislation in each country (accelerate and simplify procedures)

Establish “bad bank” legislation in each country to allow non-performing loans to be quickly segregated

Establish a coordinated debt restructuring framework (a “Super Chapter 11”) to enable private borrowers which are solvent but illiquid to reschedule their debt

Deploy tighter bank regulations ensuring, e.g., strengthened insolvency limits and increased reserve levels for FX lending.

2) Establish an ESIP Fund of EUR 160-190 bn

The ESIP Fund would act on four key areas, with the objective of strengthening the financial sector and providing solvent borrowers with access to liquidity:

Provide emergency liquidity of approximately EUR 50-60 bn4 (e.g., contingent credit lines or swaps, facilitated by the ECB and the IMF in the most challenging situations):
To CEE central banks, requiring structural economic adjustments in the most imbalanced economies and pricing in the additional country risk (albeit at lower rates and longer maturities than current market conditions provide)
To Western European banks heavily exposed to the region, but only if country exposures are clearly separated and if coupled with capital injections
Support coordinated debt rescheduling of approximately EUR 1.5 bn,5 funded partially by the ESIP:
Under the plan for private debt, the maturity would be lengthened and the interest rate and/or FX rates would be brought below market rates. This plan would be funded by the borrowers (mainly through extensions of terms), the banks (by accepting lower margins), and the ESIP (through providing long-term liquidity). The implementation of the plan could include a large-scale swap from FX to local currency loans (structured to eliminate FX rate impact) to reduce further FX exposure, mainly in non-EU countries
The public debt of selected countries should be restructured along the same lines, as needed on a case-by-case basis
Provide capital injections to restructured banks (e.g., with the EBRD in the lead) of approximately EUR 35-45 bn:6
To Western European banks, but only if country exposures are separated and if pre-specified trigger criteria are met (in conjunction with liquidity provisions)
To CEE banks, together with their respective national banks (international involvement in the capital would reduce domestic political pressures for un-economic lending)
To newly established bad banks, but only in return for equity in “clean” banks
Provide guarantees and/or liquidity to support the real economy, including:
Enhancing the region’s ability to export (e.g., with the World Bank in the lead), entailing approximately EUR 35 bn7 in trade finance
Channeling money to economic areas that are enduring the highest impact, in particular the infrastructure and SME sectors, entailing approximately EUR 40-50 bn or 3-4% of GDP
Ensuring the extension of parent banks’ credit lines to their subsidiaries.
3) Establish an ESIP Multi-Year Stabilization Plan

The stabilization framework for EU and EU candidate countries should be based on a clear, aggressive timeframe for Euro adoption (because CEE countries are structurally tightly linked to the Eurozone economy, failing to anchor them quickly to the Euro would perpetuate the current systemic instability). This would motivate concomitant political action in CEE (as EU accession has done) and strengthen the trust of international investors. The plan should be based on:

More stringent criteria vis-à-vis Maastricht, especially via incentives to increase the savings rate (structurally reducing the need for external investment funding)

Unlocking EU structural funds for rapid spending (including on larger and more targeted projects). The lower EU requirements, control, and oversight would be mitigated by the strong involvement of the ESIP in structuring and disbursing funds

Required legal reforms and meaningful initiatives to fight corruption.

Governance

The IMF and EU bodies (i.e., the ECB, EBRD, EIB, and EU governments) would fund the above-described program. The responsibility for specific elements should be allocated based on the current institutional framework and relevant skill sets to ensure swift program implementation. A possible solution might be:

The Recovery and Solvency Framework could be designed by the European Commission, based on input from the IMF

The IMF could directly fund and/or coordinate the liquidity programs and debt rescheduling framework at the national bank/governmental level

The EBRD/EIB could be responsible for capital injections into banking groups

The World Bank could be responsible for the trade finance liquidity program

The European Commission could be responsible for designing and enforcing the Multi-Year Stabilization Plan.

Oversight of the overall coordination and implementation should be provided by an ESIP Supervisory entity representing the key stakeholders providing funds. The ESIP program would be driven by a simplified ESIP Board directly coordinating with the national governments and banking groups within the overall framework.

Notes:
1) Numbers in this paper refer to CEE-10 EU members plus Croatia and Ukraine.

2) Exports as a percentage of GDP. This ratio exceeds 50% for the region (80%+ in some Central European economies).

3) Due to excessive short-term funding and low capital buffers, caused by the central booking of loans to avoid the high capital ratios required at the subsidiary level.

4) 25-30% of short-term gross external debt. If intercompany loans are included, the amount would be EUR 75-90 bn.

5) 30% of high-risk FX and 10% of domestic assets rolled over at an overall cost of 15%, with ESIP supporting 1/3 of the cost (the rest would be internalized by banks through lower margins and by ultimate borrowers through longer maturities).

6) 4-5% of total banking assets (EUR 875 bn) in the region, assuming a 10% average NPL hit with a 50% recovery ratio and current capitalization above the regulatory minimum.

7) 5% of exports.


To view my source for this document CLICK HERE with thanks to The Ind.dem.Group

Perhaps you should distribute this widely amongst your family and friends as forewarned is fore armed. The more people who are capable of reading this and putting it in context the better our opportunity of survival.

In real terms the safest route is to call our own Politicians to account and at every election until these United Kingdoms are liberated from vassal status in the EU -

Write on your ballot paper:

LEAVE THE EU

I know of no alternative that offers hope.

Regards,
Greg L-W.

Monday 2 March 2009

#G076* - THE VULCAN DIES with BRITAIN?


#G076* - THE VULCAN DIES with BRITAIN?

Hi,

perhaps I am over egging the story a tad but as a small boy aged 11 - I was on summer holiday in Singapore - the start of the holiday had been excitement galore as I was taken to Heathrow, by my Uncle and Aunt, and handed over to Universal Aunts to keep an eye on me as I flew out to Singapore alone.

We reached Constantinople, Turkey and the MoD commandeered our plane for emergency troop movement for Suez!!

It was about then that I discovered my particular Universal Aunt was much more interested in what at that age I presumed to be an Oh soooo very Universal Uncle who was on the flight crew!!!

The rest of the journey was almost circuits and bumps in a miscellany of short hops my Mother orchestrated for me.

Including a flight over The North West Frontier in sight of ground and below mountain tops. Then another flight where someone slaughtered two goats on the runway because the pilot wouldn't have them on board as live cargo. The plane had a sign in many languages 'No Open Flame and No Cooking Fires'!!!

Mother ran KLM's office in Raffles Square and had almost free license to do what she liked having justabout rerouted the whole of the Dutch airforce and transporters to organise the evacuation of Djkarta, for which she got Gonged Up by Queen Beatrix.

I spent hours in Tangs and the OLD Change Alley often alone and swimming at The Singapore Club but much more interestingly with our ahma's son at the Chinese Swimming Club - it had terrifyingly high boards my parents stopped me going for a day or two when they discovered I'd been diving from the top boards - they relented when they found me 110 feet up the highest coconut palms on the island near Kampong at The Chicken Inn where Ah Fond's husband was head waiter.

Like all small boys I was fascinated because it had been The Kempitai Head Quarters & the great whites still cruised along the wall below the glass floors where the Japanese had steaked out prisoners who were torn to pieces below their tables like sushi as they dined!

I do not remember - perhaps someone reading this just might, but we were at either Seletar, Changi or Tenga for a short time and our house was a bungalo at the end of the runway!!! When there was no flying we had humming birds flying through the corner windows feeding on the hibiscus, frangippanni and flame of the forest.

However sleep just wasn't an option with Night Flying as we had 24 Vulcans on the station - you don't know what noise is, until a wing of Vulcans rotates at the end of the garden and lifts over the roof!.

It was like many jets of the day as it rotated it stood on its tail! The first Vulcan flew in 1950 and the last was made in 1959, as I recall - the sole remaining airworthy plane is almost 60!

Sad that the sole remaining flying Vulcan is £1,000,000 short of funding for exhibition flying this year and unless someone stumps up within the next 4 days it will be grounded and mothballed into a museum and never again will anyone experience the excitement of that iconic shadow in the sky.

The plane that flew the longest bombing run in history, from Ascension Island to bomb the airport on The Falklands, to prevent The Argentinians landing more troops and flying fighter sorties from Port Stanley. 8,000 miles round trip!

The Avro Vulcan was also the design style that was developed on to being The Concord and then the F117 Stealth Fighter and B2 Stealth Bomber.

I do hope you saw the big V bombers in the air at least once as they defended us through the cold war, flying the Russian border - frequently armed with the equivalent of 16,000 tons of explosive in that one huge nuclear bomb! If you have never stood by a nuclear bomb it is awesome.

It was that summer - the summer of Merdeka - that Paddy Bandon opened the Officer's club swimming pool by marching up to the diving board with his equerry to make an opening speech and as Air Vice Marshall The Earl of Bandon handed his cap (gold braid and all) his medals and his gloves to his equery he announced it is much too hot for speeches mine's a Pimms and dived in and swam to the bar at the shallow end!

It may not surprise you his nick name was 'The A Bandonned Earl'!



I do hope someone can remind me which station it was!

About 1953 Father had started on jets flying from CFS and Valley in the Meteors and Vampires!! Out of Hong Kong he was flying screamer missions over China & Russia! In Singapore it was photo recce and Intel. mostly.

Regards,
Greg L-W.
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