Brussels 2008.
A heavily fortified citadel of mystery, deceit, avarice, contempt of those unfortunates beyond the walls. Headquarters of the so called “European Union”. .The question could be poised. “A Union for what ??” or more precisely, “ for whom?”
Built on foundations of gold, the city besieged by discontent, greed, disenchantment and new countries eager to join ”in” for their own financial /political reasons, quite clearly seeing a great deal of loose money is to be made if they play their cards right. Turkey, with 70.000.000 Muslims , besides anything else, can see a much firmer foothold in the West for Islam if they could successfully negotiate entry. Should that day come, David Cameron (the shadow English Prime minister ) with other M.P’s of various extraction, will immediately convert to Islam to hedge their bets. Brown, is a Roman Catholic and the current incumbent of Number 10 downing Street. Blair, his predecessor, converted also to Catholicism for the Catholic vote, both men being Scottish
The Fatcat Parliament:
How MEPs pocket a staggering £630,000 a year each, Wife, mistress (s), tropical island trips, both town and rural houses, BMW’s, you name it, they do have it. Paid for by….
Last updated at 1:00 AM on 14th June 2008. Daily Mail
We shall identify them and their excuses later. But the most worrying aspect is how much of this rotten accounting still remains secret. There are few, if any, checks. And the figures are dizzyingly generous. Each MEP can pocket nearly £360,000 - yes, £360,000 - in pay and pensions annually and not have to account for a single penny. On top of their £61,820 salaries - the same as a Westminster MP - they get a daily £229 allowance to pay for hotels and meals (the equivalent of another £41,220 just for clocking on over 40 weeks). MEPs can also claim £700 for each trip back to the UK , whether they drive, go by train or take a low-cost flight. A further £3,194 a year can be claimed for traveling to other parts of the world, including luxury sunshine destinations, if the trips are classed as EU business. There is a £162,000-a-year allowance for secretarial services (sic) and an office allowance of £38,836 a year. This is paid automatically and MEPs do not have to provide a single receipt. Nice work if you can get it. But the no-questions-asked expenses bonanza hit trouble in January when it was revealed that the Westminster Tory MP Derek Conway had paid members of his family £374,401.73 in public money since 2001. On March 4, Gary Titley, the Labour leader in Brussels , stated piously in Section D (Further Information) of his submission: 'I wish to make it clear that I employ my wife as my secretary/PA.' The register also shows Mr. Titley to have the other perks of free tickets to a whole series of major sporting events. Others use different ways to finesse their previously withheld spousal employee relationships. Labour MEP for the North-East Stephen Hughes deploys a unique diversionary tactic on his March 31 submission by listing all the academic qualifications of his researcher wife Cynthia. For the record, the letters following her name are BA, LL.B (Hons), MA, MEd, MPhil.Tory MEP for London John Bowis admitted on May 5 to employing his wife, but argues in the register that she was 'formerly employed as constituency secretary for two other MPs, including a former Prime Minister'.( Ealing Common Kinnock and family, all, also on the Take) The implication being that she is pretty red-hot at the job. On May 27, Glenis Willmott, Labour MEP for East Midlands , declared in the register: 'I employ husband Edward as an integrated member of my staff team.' No doubt she took her husband/integrated member to watch the FA Cup final, as she received two free tickets. , Labour MEP for Yorkshire & The Humber, does not even want to use the word 'wife' in his first declaration that he employs her. On March 13, he submitted to the register that he has a part-time secretary 'related to me by marriage'. On the register, had made a written promise to issue a statement about his staff, but has yet to do so. However, the Tory MEP for the East Midlands admitted to us that his wife, Sara administered the £125,000 a year he spent from his staff allowances. For this, she is paid around £15,000 a year. One other adjustment that has been made this week to the register of interests is by the Scottish MEP John Purvis, who was the subject of critical headlines last week for a £1m 'conflict of interests'. The register shows that in April this year, Mr. Purvis declared he was a partner in Purvis & Co., which provided 'business services'. In December, he had described it as being dedicated to 'business advisory'. In the past week, we learned it received tens of thousands of pounds of his publicly funded allowances, supposedly to handle payments to his staff. This is against the rules. And so last Monday, a new declaration to the register of interests. Mr. Purvis still used Purvis & Co. as his 'service provider'. But now he was no longer listed as a partner in the firm. We asked him about it last night, in the interests of transparency. A spokeswoman for Mr. Purvis confirmed the MEP had withdrawn his name as a partner of Purvis & Co. She said: 'He has got rid of his interest. He has no connection with the company any more. 'Asked whether Purvis & Co. employed the MEP's relatives, she refused to comment. 'He has nothing further to say,' she replied .Long overdue rules changes will eventually close some loopholes exposed here. But what is the root of the prevailing cavalier attitude to accountability and the willful misuse of so much public money? One answer lies 300 miles south of Brussels , in Strasbourg . On the edge of an industrial estate on a ring road outside this Alsatian French town, across the Rhine from Germany , stands the glass and steel European Parliament building. Yes, another European Parliament building. Under the EU Constitution, every fourth week the whole 'circus' has to pack its bags and move from the Belgian capital to sit for four days in Strasbourg. Why? Because it is a symbol of the Franco-German detente. Imagine that our own Parliament was held in Bristol and Carlisle and that every fourth week the whole mechanism had to be transported between the two. When I visited on Tuesday, Strasbourg was absolutely dead. The two security guards on the gate of the Parliament did not speak English. The woman in the Parliament information office didn't, either. Officially, Strasbourg is the headquarters of the European Parliament, senior to Brussels , but it had the air of a national backwater, which is what it is really. The EU gravy train stops here. On Monday, the Strasbourg Express will pull out of Brussels for the journey to Alsace , carrying many of the 3,000 MEPs, staff and other bureaucrats. A fleet of lorries shifts the files. It is hired by the Parliament from the transport giant Thales for £160,000 per round trip. Naturally, it has 'lavish' catering facilities (the normal service has no buffet car) and is supposed to cut down on the Parliament's already bloated carbon footprint. It arrives at Strasbourg 's impressive station, which has been recently redesigned, with EU help, at a cost of £50 million. The hotels built solely because of the Parliament's occasional presence will fill up (they were almost empty this week) and then everyone will return to Brussels on Thursday. These jaunts cost the EU taxpayer £170million a year. Given such institutionalized waste, why should the MEPs cut their costs? Overspending is rife. Our Money is no object to them apparently. Hardly a “going concern” More of a bizarre circus /brothel.
Premiership footballers' Spanish holiday homes face demolition over corruption scandal
By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 5:59 PM on 27th June 2008
An exclusive Spanish development where up to a dozen British celebrities own properties could be bulldozed after being linked in a corruption scandal, it emerged today. The Valle Romano complex -where leading Premiership stars Paul Robinson, Michael Brown and David Bentley have homes - is being investigated as part of Operation Astapa. The scandal has so far seen the resignation of the Estepona mayor and 40 arrests, including the boss of Valle Romano Luis Linares
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