The unelected Cathy Ashton

The BBC report that:

'The EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who met with Egypt's former president Mohammed Morsi, has been speaking to the BBC.

Baroness Ashton is the first foreign diplomat to meet with the former President since he was ousted from power in early July.

The BBC's Jim Muir asked the Baroness if she shared any common ground with Mr Morsi: "There has to be a way of getting to the other side," she said.

Any common ground between Mohammed Morsi and Cathy Ashton? Let's see, Mohammed Morsi was elected and then deposed whilst Cathy Ashton has never been elected but with a little luck will also be deposed.

It really gets my goat, pun intended, when the BBC in this linked report tell us that:

'EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi is "well", but that she does not know where he is being held.

Baroness Ashton said she had two hours of "frank, in-depth" discussions with Mr Morsi on Monday, without giving further details of the conversation.'

The unelected and unaccountable Lady Ashton, did she maybe lecture Mohammed Morsi on the benefits of democracy? From a purely theoretical point of view of course.

Do you think that Bariness Ashton should show more or less cleavage?

Personally I am not bothered that much by Baroness Ashton's cleavage. I have more fundamental issues with the EU's, never elected to any position, High Representative for Foreign Affairs. However it seems that the Iranians thought she had sported too revealing a top during a recent visit. The BBC have the full story and the pictures... Beware in Iran the 'uncensored' picture maybe NSFW.

Alex Masterley thinks Lady Ashton is a 'waste of space'

Alex Masterley at The Financial Crimes asks that:
we allow him

'to be a little bit politically incorrect, but pragmatic.

...

So the "world", in their ignorance sends Lady Ashton, a woman whose sole claim to fame appears to be that she is married to Peter Kellner and whose sole experience in negotiating is "negotiating" bills through th House of Lords, which is quite frankly chicken feed compared to typical negotiations in the private sector.

So what do the Iranians do when they see this leviathan of international diplomacy heading their way? they check out her CV and see that she started her career working for the unilateral disarmerment faction that is the Cmpaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Not much of a threat there and the Iranians know that they can outbluff the rest of the world when they are faced with a pacifist.

But even then you would have though that a deal could be done, the Iranians bought of with cash plus technology. Ah yes, my friend, but you have obvuiously never dealt with the Iranians, or many in the Middle East, for there is a fatal flaw in the make up of people such as Mrs Ashton and even Mrs Clinton the US Secretary of State which means that the Iranians will never sit down with them to negotiate. For alas, they are women, and in so much as the Iranian President and the Supreme Leader will never be seen to sign a document negotiated with a woman, the whole exercise is a vast waste of time and money, and you, dear tax payer, will be piking up the tab.'

Catchup post

Too many articles have held my interest over the past few days but I have not had the time to post so here's a catchup:

1) Events Dear Boy Evens warns us that despite everything seemingly pointing to a set budget and 6 May as the date of the general election that we should be careful:

"But wait. We have to consider the mind of short-term tactical Brown.

It's not like him to walk down the path of the all-so-obvious. He will want to wrong-foot the Tories with some trumped-up dividing lines on Budget Day, as well as sending us voters a few morsels to chew on. Furthermore, there is no better way of throwing the Tories and LibDems election plans into disarray by seeking the dissolution when its least expected.

Be prepared. Brown will pull a few rabbits out of the hat in the coming weeks."

2) The Mail reports yet another story of a victim of crime being arrested as when a

"restaurant owner found two teenage yobs raiding his beer cellar, he chased them and held them while his staff dialled 999.

Sal Miah assumed police would commend him for catching the young criminals.

But when officers arrived they arrested 35-year-old Mr Miah on suspicion of assault and battery."

As is becoming normal the police don't apologise but instead

"Sussex police said Mr Miah should have 'observed from a safe distance' before dialling 999.

The spokesman said: 'On no account should any attempt at aggression be made as this could easily escalate into violence.'"

3) A Tangled Web reports that:

"non-white children born this year will form a majority of the country's newborns for the very first time. By 2050 it will not so much be a case of Uncle Sam as Uncle José.

...

As Hispanics overwhelmingly endorse the Democrats (Obama received 67% of their vote in 2008), what does it say about the chances of the GOP maintaining its dominant hold on the White House in the 21st Century? The 20th Century saw 10 Republicans and only 7 Democrats in the Oval Office. Will America's emerging status as a white minority country reverse that trend? Moreover, what of foreign relations? Will, for example, a future US President anxious to placate an ever-increasing Hispanic voter base look less to Europe for traditional allies?"

4) Trixy reports on the woeful Baroness Ashton's latest appearance in front of the EU Parliament:

"Addressing the Parliament for the first time in the 100 days since she's been appointed the job of EU Foreign Minister, she spoke about the need to, well, remove any concept of nation states within the European Union.

She's the highest paid female politician in the world. I like the way she earns that money with her little school ground impression at the end of the speech."

Here's the video of Mr Paul Nuttall's speech and the always unelected Cathy Ashton's immature response to some much deserved ridicule.


5) The Mail has an interesting article about Frank Field headlined

"The only politician with the guts to speak out about immigration: Frank Field reveals his candid opinion on the future of Britain"

6) Anna Raccoon has a long piece mostly about the power of the people/blogosphere and specifically about Nick Hogan, it includes this rather chilling note

"In the meantime, Russia’s main television channel is flying into Manchester to interview Nick Hogan as part of a special investigation* into the totalitarian regime that they see emerging in Europe – Oh! The irony! Post Perestroika Russia sees Britain as an oppressive regime! Was it only yesterday that we were lecturing them on Freedom?"

7) The BBC seem shocked that the month after the stamp duty holiday ended that

"Mortgages agreed with house buyers fell by 49% from December, after buyers rushed to beat the reintroduction of the old stamp duty thresholds.

There were just 32,000 loans approved for house buyers in January.

The number of loans for first-time buyers fell by 54% in January to 11,300."

Of course no blame is ascribed to Gordon Brown, although they were happy to give kudos to Gordon Brown for the uplift in the economy in the last few months of 2009.

Daniel Hannan showing he's not anti-European just anti-EU

Better French than Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Baroness Ashton, not to mention me.


Thanks to Raedwald for the spot.

Baroness Ashton tells the truth

Baroness Aston the ex CND EU's first High Representative for foreign affairs and security is reported as saying that "I won't be an extension of the British government". Anyone who has read my blog will be not in the slightest surprised as I have stated many times (most recently here and here) that "EU pensions are paid on the understanding that the EU can remove this pension, if in the view of the Commission or the Luxembourg Court, the recipient "fail(s) to uphold the interests of the European Communities", I wonder if that applies to EU salaries as well?

Baroness Ashton update

The Telegraph report that:

"Baroness Ashton, the new European Union foreign minister, is facing questions over her role in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament amid claims that it may have had financial links to the Soviet Union. "

I blogged about Baroness Ashton's CND past previously, although I think that her alleged previous links to the USSR are not a problem for one of the big players in the EUSSR.

It's 'Mandy' time

Just two Peter Mandelson stories this weekend, but they do, I think, say so much about the man and his motivations.

The first is from The Mail and concerns the

"Anger at Peter Mandelson's £13m plan for ‘minimalist palace’ after he calls for pay restraint"

It seems that:

"With its moody lighting, low-slung sofas and plasma TVs, there is only one Cabinet Minister who would feel truly at home here – this is the £13million new Whitehall ‘palace’ being built for Peter Mandelson.

The Business Secretary’s London HQ – the nerve centre of the ‘empire of Mandelsonia’ – is being given a slick, minimalist refurbishment to reflect
his growing power in Government.

But last night Tory chairman Eric Pickles accused Lord Mandelson of hypocrisy for demanding pay and spending restraint while lavishing funds on his own department. "

How odd to see the word 'hypocrisy' and the name 'Peter Mandelson' in the same article, how very odd. As with most ex and indeed current Marxists, nothing but the best for the members of the politburo.

But it is this part of the article that annoyed me the most as it sums up the wastrel habits of this vile Labour government:

"A Business Department spokesman said: ‘Currently, staff in the department are split between this and a second site – as we are surrendering that site, it is a cost-neutral project.’ "

There you go there is an amount of money to spend and so long as we don't exceed it that's fine. Might a better option have been to consolidate the two offices but not spend £8-£10 million on the office re-fit? Was a cheaper option even considered? I doubt it, after all it's not Peter Mandelson or Gordon Brown's money their future income is safe and the massive tax increases will hardly dent Peter Mandelson's enormous EU pension.


The second article is from The Times and concerns the believable claims that

"Gordon Brown is facing demands to make Lord Mandelson foreign secretary in a row that risks tearing apart his government.

The business secretary is secretly pressing Brown to hold a cabinet reshuffle so he can achieve his life-long ambition of running the Foreign Office. Mandelson made the request after he was snubbed for the post of European Union foreign minister at last week’s Brussels summit.

Mandelson’s reshuffle call puts the prime minister in a perilous position as he struggles to retain the support of the most powerful figures in the cabinet.

If he bows to Mandelson’s wishes, he risks alienating David Miliband, the foreign secretary, and his ally Ed Balls, the schools secretary, who is still eager for promotion. If he refuses Mandelson’s demand, he risks losing his loyalty with potentially devastating consequences for the election."

Peter Mandelson scheming for advancement in public office, who would have thought it? Is the UK really ready for an unelected Prime Minister with a twice disgraced and now unelected Foreign Secretary; and don't forget the never elected Baroness Ashton as the EU high representative. Democracy Labour style - makes you sick doesn't it?

Coincidence or EU stitch-up?

So until October 2008 Baroness Ashton was Labour’s leader in the House of Lords and played a key part in getting the Lisbon Treaty through the upper house and avoiding the calls for a referendum. Now Baroness Ashton is the surprise selection of the EU's 27 member states as high representative for foreign affairs and security.

Coincidence?

Democracy EU style (part 2)

The unelected Labour peer Baroness Ashton has been selected as the EU's high representative of foreign affairs and security by the leaders of the EU's 27 member states at a meeting in Brussels.

Does anyone else feel that the way that a woman who has never been elected to a political position will now be one of the most powerful people in the EU is somewhat symbolic of the lack of democracy in the EU.

Let's look at Baroness Ashton's CV:
1977 to 1979 worked at the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament before being elected as its national treasurer and then a vice-chair. So the vice chair of CND whose organisation undermined western security is now nominally responsible for the EU's "Security", maybe Marxism has won...
1983 worked for the Social Work Training Council.
1983 to 1989 Director of Business in the Community working with business to tackle inequality
1998-2001 chaired the Health Authority in Hertfordshire and became a Vice President of the National Council for One Parent Families
June 2001 made a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Skills
2002 appointed minister for Sure Start in the same department
September 2004 made a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department for Constitutional Affairs
2006 sworn into the Privy Council
May 2007 became Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the new Ministry of Justice
June 2007 Gordon Brown, appointed her to the Cabinet as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council
3 October 2008 nominated as the UK's European Commissioner in the European Commission
November 2009, she became the first EU foreign minister

So the "noble lady" has managed to make it from working at CND to being High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security without being democratically elected to any public office.

Isn't modern Labour and EU democracy simply marvellous, absolutely no need for elections at all. The people have no say, just the requirement to pay taxes and obey the multitude of laws introduced by their lords and masters.