Another Attempt by Obama to Force Britain into the EU.

Thanks to my fellow Anglo American commentator Nile Gardiner for picking this story up, that has gone almost entirely unnoticed by the mainstream media on both sides of the Atlantic.  Apparently the Obama administration has started another push to get America's once strongest ally further into the quicksand of the European Union.  This time it is diplomat Louis Susman (American ambassador to the UK) who has been running his mouth off.  In a private meeting with British MEPs this week in the European Parliament, Susman called for a stronger commitment to the failing EU by Great Britain.

"Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Susman signalled that Washington wants a clearer British commitment to remain in the EU, saying “I want to stress that the UK needs to remain in the EU.

“The US does not want to see Britain’s role in the EU diminished in any way.

“The message I want to convey today is that we want to see a stronger EU, but also a stronger British participation within the EU.

Susman, who took up his current post a year ago, added, “This is crucial if, together, we are going to meet all the global challenges facing us, including climate change and security."

Although it is most certainly not unheard of for allies to express opinions on various international issues that effect the other nation, to push for something that every single opinion poll shows that the British public are against is distasteful at best, and at worst it is downright insulting.  America should be supporting its allies, not challenging them at every possible opportunity.

The statement is also quite wrong.  I will ignore the vagueness of "dealing with climate change", as we already know that for the Obama administration the science is unquestionable and "dealing" with the problem involves as much big government as is humanly possible.  However, the idea that if Britain hands over its sovereignty to the hard-left, anti-American, pacifist EU then this will be excellent for "security", then Mr Susman is either delusional or a fool.

When will the Obama administration understand that the EU is not America's friend.  It is filled with American hating lefties, and it doesn't change just because they have a Democrat in office.  If America wants an ally in Europe, then Britain (as always) is its best hope.  Trying to push Britain into the EU will only make Britain weaker, and damage Anglo-American relations, which will ultimately harm America.

While creating an European megastate may fit in with Obama's left-wing view of the world, it will do nothing for America's interests.  It is for this reason that America should oppose this pushy new attitude towards their best ally, and stop Obama from doing even more harm to the national interest of America, and the interests of her allies.

Liberal Democrats - "The Prisoners Must Be Able to Vote!"

I always say that one of the reasons I never made it as a left-wing sort of person (as I flirted with being in my teens) is because my brain isn't wired in the way it needs to be wired for one to be left-wing.  This is especially the case with the British Liberal Democrats (who are neither liberal in the traditional sense, nor particularly democratic.)

It is a peculiar person who watches a criminal being carted off to prison and immediately thinks "Oh no!  I hope his rights are being protected!"  Don't get me wrong, I am not arguing for no rights for criminals, but the unusual fervour with which the left desperately seek out more and more advanced rights than criminals are being "denied" is very difficult to work out at times.

So today, when I saw that the Lib Dems are back on their old hobby horse of trying to give prisoners voting rights again, I had to really sit back in wonder at them all over again.  However, when one thinks about it, it is not particularly strange that the Lib Dems are very keen on this measure, and it is in fact very clever, and a particular characteristic of many left-wing parties internationally.  Nile Gardiner has a great analysis of Clegg and co's decision to go ahead with this surge, and he points to Clegg's ideological dedication to unification with the EU, who needless to say are so keen that prisoners get voting rights, that they want them to sue the taxpayer for compensation!  Yeh, amazing isn't it?

However, the segment I feel that Gardiner misses out on is that political parties always canvass for votes, and left-wing campaigners have a habit of trying to create new segments that they can "protect" and therefore gain votes for life from.  It has been very successful.  For instance, it is no coincidence that a great many of those who vote for massive tax-rises by voting for left-wing parties don't happen to pay any income tax themselves.  In America, Obama is trying to grant amnesty to tonnes of illegal immigrants - he knows that the second they become citizens, they will probably vote Democrat.

So, back to the Lib Dems and prisoners.  We know that prisoners will be interested in a number of things. 

1) Prison conditions

2) Shorter prison sentences

3) General soft attitude to crime

4) Voting (maybe)

5) Welfare (a high proportion of criminals will be on welfare at some point.)

Now, look back over that list and who do you think covers most of those points?  Thats right, the Lib Dems!  They know that they will get tens of thousands more votes, some in tight constituencies, should the prison population be able to vote.  It is an extraordinarily cynical move, and it will do a lot of damage in the long term.  For instance, it will encourage politicians, specifically left-wing politicians, to scramble over one another in a race to be more "compassionate" and "understanding" towards criminals, who after all are only "victims of society themselves."

One may argue that nationally, the prison population is relatively insignificant.  Maybe, but in constituencies with a large prison, it could be enormous.  MP's in those constituencies will pander more to the voices of prisoners than they will to the voices of teachers, doctors, nurses, business owners, members of emergency services etc.  The prison population will become a powerful advocacy group in certain areas, and will therefore have significant influence on policy.

This should not be allowed to happen.  Conservatives forced into this current alliance with the Lib Dems should break off and condemn the scheme as insulting to law-abiding citizens, insulting to the victims of crime, and ultimately as a cynical ploy for more votes that will only contribute to the break down of law and order that left-wing parties always encourage without fail.

The European Union's Power Grab - Episode 2319

Do you remember back in the old days when the European Union, or the EC as it was known then, was simply a small group of similar countries dedicated to free trade and better co-operation in diplomatic matters?  Back when even Margaret Thatcher could call it a useful tool for the free market?

Remember those days fondly, because those days are well and truly over.  For a long time now the European Union has been a socialist-federalist nightmare - dedicated to useless laws, interfering with national sovereignty, higher and higher spending, protectionism and everything else on the left-wing agenda.  There have been a number of pro-EU articles that argue gleefully that the EU is a natural replacement for the USSR on the world stage   Therefore Americans and Brits should be concerned that in yesterday's Daily Telegraph it has been reported that the new European Ambassador to Washington -Joao Vale de Almeida - has said that he speaks for Britain on foreign and security policy in America.

In a comment that has come to symbolise the American view of the EU, Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state, is once said to asked: “When I want to talk to Europe, who do I call?” In a response to that question, Mr Vale de Almeida declared: “In this area code, you call me.” The ambassador insisted that he did not wish to “impose myself” on member states’ ambassadors, who will continue to oversee “bilateral matters.” But he declared: “Where we have a common position, I am the one leading the show.”

Nile Gardiner, as always, has an excellent article about how this latest power grab by the euro-socialists threatens not just British national sovereignty, but also the relationship between Britain and America - as it is an attempt to sideline Britain on the international stage, and to handcuff her from co-operating closer with America.

Brits, of course, should be worried about this power grab.  It is surprisingly blatant for the EU, which has in the past taken the "frog in boiling water" approach to castrating Britain.  Its usual policy is to do things in the tiniest of steps, slowly turning up the heat so that eventually Brits are boiling to death in European socialism without realising it.  However, with the EU behemoth tottering in a number of areas - specifically the Euro, the bureaucrats are pushing their agenda even harder at the moment.  It almost goes without saying that Brits should push back against this attempt to replace Britain's national parliament with an unrepresentative bureaucracy that has never acted in the interests of Great Britain.

However, the different thing with this new power grab is that Americans should be concerned too.  The Special Relationship has been important for America, and Britain is a greatly needed ally in both its local affairs, as well as international affairs - such as the War on Terror.  The European Union on the other hand is made up of countries and people who are not big fans of the stars and stripes (primarily due to their left-wing outlook), and who would definitely lobby for a 'cooler' attitude towards America.

A European wide foreign policy would be a lot less pro-American and a lot less willing to deal with threats to security.  Instead it would be a hard-left foreign policy that would seek to "engage" with, and "understand" those who pose threats to the West.  It would be a policy that would be immensely critical of America's relationship with Israel, while hiding under the covers when it came to condemning Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.  It would be a limp-wristed foreign policy formed in trendy European Universities by Marxists and "anti-imperialist" radicals.

The EU is a hard-left, anti American and anti-British organisation, and has been for a long time.  Brits must fight against it, and with these new developments, so must America.  An "EU foreign policy" would be a grave  development.