This 50 year old E U needs updating !!!

Though the E U currently has several fundamental problems there is little or nothing very decisive being proposed to solve any of them.

In particular, the following problems are examples of what needs urgent attention;

1) What is being done to stop effectively, illegal immigrants entering the E U ?

2) Which countries will ultimately pay the cost of loans to insolvent E U countries ?

3) When will the Human Rights Charter be updated ?
When will the European court of Human rights be controlled ?

4) When will only politicians elected in E U elections, run the E U ?

5) What has been decided on an E U basis to control the powers of Banks ?

6) How long will it be before the E U accounts will again be certified by the auditors without any qualifications ?

7) Will the E U undertake to limit the length of the re-election of politicians to the E U ?

8) Will the E U propose a Charter of the Minimum Constitutional Rights of Electors to prevent future abuses within the E U ?

The above list of outstanding problems is far from being complete !!! There are many people with much more information than the author of this Blog, who know what needs to be done to organize the reduction of the backlog of E U problems.

In this connection the question really is:

"Who has the responsibility of ensuring that the E U redefines its goals by updating the original objectives of the E U which were fixed 50 years ago, when there were only 6 Founding Members ?". "Who is logically responsible ?"

Can we hope that there is someone with sufficient power and willpower, who is prepared to undertake the task to alert those empowered to address the importance of these questions ?

If no one moves, the E U will be abandoned and it will cease to exist !!!

National and E U election dates

Despite what the E U really wanted, the British Parliament has voted not to give criminals in prison the right to vote.

This flies in the face of the faceless, unelected E U mandarins who initiate the E U policies. At long last some common sense concerning the diktates of the E U has come from both sides of the House of Commons.

The Members of Parliament of all countries, not only in Great Britain, are elected to defend the interests of their country. When the E U wants to impose unacceptable principles, they should and must be opposed. The principle of democracy must be upheld by the E U with the help of the leaders of each country in the E U. Alas, this is not possible at present !!!

The basic problem with this assertion is that the dates of E U Elections do not coincide with the dates of National Elections. Why ? Has no one ever considered the importance, which the impact of this aberration, has had, and will continue to have, on european politics ?

The solution to this problem is above all, common sense. When a General Election is held in a country, it should at the same time elect its MEPs (Members of the European Parliament)

MEPs would then certainly become much more sensitive to the changing feelings of the electors in their own country. This would also, without any doubt, help their national leader to intervene more efficiently and in a timely manner, in the affairs of the E U.

In fact, when things go wrong in the E U, it is not really the MEP who suffers !!! It is the Prime Minister !!! Is this right ? Should the E U not recognise this and change its rules on when the election of MEP's should take place ?

BRAVO JUDGE TRIGGER

Judge Trigger has again vented his feelings of utter frustration in court and again risks reprimands from his superiors !!! The faceless Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Lord Chancellor in fact tell him to avoid sending criminals to prison for short term sentences, even if they are repetitive offenders !!!

The Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clark, cannot justify continuing the same policies so lamentally used by the Socialists. Bigger prisons must be built, criminals must be deterred from reoffending and the public must be protected. Taxpayers and others have a right to expect the application of the laws which have been voted.

Bending over backwards in order to be seen applying the Human Rights Act with respect to criminals is ludicrous when they in fact infringe the human rights of their victims. Originally the aims of the Human Rights Act was to protect citizens in countries where there were few human rights.

If Judge Trigger is again reprimanded the Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clark, must clearly explain to the electorate how he and the Conservative Government expect Judges to perform their duties; how are they expected to protect the public and efficiently control and deter crime and criminals.

Mr Clark, to prevent Judges from sentencing criminals is like aiding and abetting criminals after their crime. This happens frequently in totalitarian countries and sometimes in other countries as well !!!

WHAT NOW FIFA ? WHAT NOW Mr BLATTER ?

All is quiet on the FIFA front. It has had its problems but the least said the better ! FIFA is now very busy preparing the agenda for its next four yearly A G M. The real question is what are they going to propose to discuss and what do they intend to sweep under the carpet ? Alternatively, what do they not want to discuss !!!

Basically, FIFA is a closed shop. It does not want interference from outside bodies. This means that it does not want awkward questions, it wants to maintain the status quo.

Many problems stem from the fact that the statutes of FIFA do not cover all the aspects of FIFA governance !!! For example, how and how much are executives paid. Who verifies and autorizes the level of expenses ?

In the Statutes of FIFA there are no age limitations. There are no limitations of how often anyone can remain appointed. This observation concerns in particular the members of the Executive Committee where certain members have been caught after having accepted bribes. Nothing is clear. Likewise the reappointment of Sepp Blatter is almost certain despite the problems concerning the decision that Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup !!!

Was the nomination of Qatar in accordance with FIFA rules ? Are there any rules or regulations which could have prevented this decision ? Was it so urgent to push this through in 2010 ? Is this why Sepp Blatter must be reelected, to supervise the solution of problems connected with the 2022 World Cup ?

Sepp Blatter has resisted changes concerning the use of televisual aids to help referees in situations where they cannot always see what is going on. Referees do not have eyes in the back of their heads Mr Blatter !!! Other sports have long ago turned to visual aids to help referees, not least those concerned with Rugby !!! The goaline technology favoured by Michel Platini is not the answer either. There were too many errors in the last World Cup, during the qualifications and then during the Finals, to pacify the millions of patient spectators.

What will FIFA propose at the next A G M ? Anything new, or just "Let's talk about this during the next four years". Will anyone who takes part at the next A G M evoke any of the foregoing problems ?

COALITION PRISON POLICIES

In my opinion Judge Trigger very rightly imprisoned the crook Kevin Howard for five and a half years for his crime spree on vulnerable and particularly elderly women. Howard needed the proceeds of his crimes to fuel his needs for drugs !!!

There are some major questions to be answered:

a During his previous imprisonment did Kevin Howard have access to drugs ?
b During his new imprisonment is there any guarantee that he will not have access to drugs ?
c Was he on a drugs rehabilitation program during his previous term of imprisonment ?
d Will he be on a drugs rehabilitation program during the next five and a half years ?
e Could Kevin Howard or other prisoners in the same identical situation in which he now finds himself, qualify for early release ?

The basic question is how to protect the honest and harmless citizens in our country. One often reads that drugs are freely available in prisons. This is also true in other countries, not just in Britain.

The Socialists had a soft approach to the problems of prisoners and prison capacities. To kill off the drug barons supplying prisons, would it not be tactically better to build specialized prisons on an island off the north coast of Scotland or somewhere else very remote ? This could provide employment in the outer reaches. Is it still necessary to have prisons next door to where a criminal is active ?

The approach of David Cameron to scythe into the excessive expenditures of the Socialists is admirable. However, not to update prisons and connected policies will prove to be a false economical policy.

Nick Clegg should also shoulder his part of the responsibility on this issue !!!

FIFA MUST ACCEPT A REORGANIZATION

The scandal of the secret FIFA voting procedure which led to the adoption of Russia and Qatar as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has left everyone except Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA, bemused if not simply horrified !!!

On 2 December 2010, The Times newspaper published on the morning of the votes an admirable statement of information concerning the 22 members of the Executive Committee who had the right to vote. It revealed that 6 members were under the age of 60; 7 were aged between 60 and 65, and 9 were aged over 65 !!!

Sepp Blatter has been involved in the organisations of the last 8 World Cups, either as General Secretary of FIFA on the first five occasions or as President during the last three World Cups. He is now aged 74, having served FIFA in one capacity or another since 1975, i.e. during 35 years.

A perusal of the Statutes of the FIFA Organisation reveals that there is no age limit concerning the re-election of the President or any member of the Executive Committee.

An obligatory retirement age would certainly rejouvinate the Executive Committee and avoid the number of problems and abuses encountered recently. On the internet at least three current members (not suspended) are cited as having been involved in bribes a few years ago.

The Statutes of FIFA, which can be easily consulted on the internet, make no mention of whether the President or Executive Committee members can be or are remunerated. Likewise, who has the power to authorise any payments of remuneration if they are made ?

What the Statutes of FIFA do make clear is that Elections are to be carried out by a secret ballot !!! This is understandable generally but in retrospect regrettable in view of the recent elections of Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts. Everyone wants to know what motivated Executives of the Committee to vote the way they did.

Finally, is it morally right to permit Zinedine Zidane, a former international footballer for France, to present the candidacy of Qatar ? Who accepted or endorsed this ? Presentations are normally proud, national duties !!!

PLATINI and BLATTER must act now !!!

The Italian Football Association decision to suspend and fine Samuel Eto'o, the Inter Milan player for head-butting Bostjan Cesar of Chievo should be applauded universally by the World of Football.

Apparently this head-butt was in retaliation for a foul by Cesar on Eto'o. That may be so but this is not the object of this article.

The Italian F.A. have apparently used television images to identify, suspend and fine the culprit. They have sanctioned this unforgivable action which millions of television viewers saw, but which happened behind the back of the referee !!! The referee, alas, did not see the incident. Can you criticise the referee because he did not have eyes in the back of his head, and who does not have video images to call on like rugby referees ?

When referees miss something or make a wrong decision, they are indirectly punished by the very people, namely Platini and Blatter, who should be protecting them with modern technology !!! They are downgraded or removed from certain official lists.

The fact that Platini and Blatter are frightened to embrace modern technology, as for example in the Rugby World, is unacceptable. What holds them back ? Is it money ? Would EUFA or FIFA have to pay for the use of television rights ?

FIFA was recently basking in the glory of the recent World Cup inspite of the flagrant refereeing errors !!! What has happened since ? Nothing has changed during the last decade !!!

Can we expect anything new to happen if Platini or Blatter are re-elected to their respective posts ? Is there no time limit to their tenure ?

When there is a wrong refereeing decision the result could be that a club is relegated, the manager is sacked, players are not retained, referees are downgraded and the owners of clubs have to cover the financial consequences. And the fans........!