CHALLENGING THE ‘ARTICLE 50’ CHALLENGE

BY LAWYERS for BRITAIN

“A deeply troubling and wrong-headed decision”

When it comes to using the prerogative for “less Europe”, there are implied limitations which do not seem to exist for “more Europe”

On 3rd November 2016 the Divisional Court handed down its judgment in R (Miller) -V- Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2016] EWHC 2768 (Admin). The court has, to the surprise of most informed observers, decided that it is outside the prerogative powers of the Crown for notice to be given under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union to withdraw from the European Union.

In reaching this decision, the judgment has overturned the accepted understanding about the respective power of the Crown on the international plane to accede to and withdraw from international treaties, and the powers of Parliament to alter the internal law of the United Kingdom.
BREXIT Judges
The European Communities Act 1972 was a constitutional innovation for the United Kingdom. It linked international treaties directly to the internal law of the United Kingdom by giving the European Treaties and supranational legislation made under them so called “direct effect.” That means that they have force in UK internal law – and therefore alter the content of the law – without recourse to Parliament.

The judgment argues that this feature of the 1972 Act means that the Crown has no power to withdraw from the EU treaties, because doing so would have the effect of altering domestic law, which only Parliament can do.

This argument is illogical and does not hold water. There are many acts which the government can carry out on the international plane under the European treaties which have the effect of altering UK domestic law, and in doing so either confer rights on people or deprive them of rights. Whenever the UK representative on the Council of Ministers joins in passing into law a directly applicable EU Regulation then the Crown in using the prerogative power to alter internal UK law without that alteration of the law going through Parliament. This is simply a consequence of the direct effect machinery of the 1972 Act.

So why should it be OK to have “more Europe” through exercise of the prerogative power, but wrong to have “less Europe” as a result of Article 50 being invoked and the direct effect parts of EU law ceasing to apply within the UK? Nothing in the wording of the 1972 Act supports such a distinction.

There is a further reason why this decision flies in the face of the obvious intention of Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty, which inserted Article 50 into the Treaty on European Union, was given effect in UK law by the European Union (Amendment) Act 2008. That Act therefore made the Article 50 power available for use by the Crown but did not specify that its exercise would need the approval of Parliament. That Act however explicitly provides for Parliamentary control over certain prerogative acts under the EU treaties, including Article 49 on Treaty revision. But notably, the statutory scheme of Parliamentary control of prerogative power does not extend to notifications under Article 50.
BREXIT Art 50 High Court announcement
There has a been a long string of attempted challenges to the use of the prerogative power to extend EEC or EU powers, all of which have been rejected by the courts, sometimes in peremptory terms. However, when the prerogative is used to achieve “less Europe” in order to implement the decision of the British people which an Act of Parliament empowered them to take, it is suddenly found that there are implied limitations on the prerogative power which prevent it being used for this purpose.

Gina Miller

Gina Miller


We welcome the decision of the government to appeal from this judgment. We hope that the Supreme Court will apply the law in a more orthodox and logical way, allowing the government to fulfil its promise to the British people to implement their clear decision.
Martin Howe QC
Thomas Sharpe QC
Clive Thorne
Francis Hoa

COMMENT

Dixie Hughes

Dixie Hughes

Dixie Hughes:

The true title of the legal case that ended in the High Court on Thursday, in which three judges ruled that 650 individuals had the right to frustrate the wishes of 17.4 million voters; should have been “Parliament v the People”
By the European Referendum Act 2015, Parliament temporarily resigned its authority into the hands of those from whom it is derived: the electorate. This was voted for by 544 MPs to 53, on 9th June 2015.
The vast majority of MPs are of the Remainian ilk; but only the SNP members, possibly due to their referendum-losing heritage, actually voted against allowing the “Will of the People” to be expressed. It is arguable that they have some case for interfering with Brexit; the 544 have not the shadow of a justification for doing so.
The 544 include the Remainian rump that was so supremely confident that the People would give the “right” answer, they nodded the Bill through.
It also included the Brexit MPs who wisely kept shtum.
The Bill was approved by the House of Lords on 14th December 2015; Remainiacs again too slow to spot their chance; and the European Union Referendum Act received Royal Assent three days later.
The government pledge to be bound by the referendum result was repeated in the controversial Remainian pamphlet, announced on 6th April 2016 and delivered to every home in the UK a week or so later.
The wording used was; “This is your decision. The Government will implement what you decide.”
The sending-out of that pamphlet, containing that pledge, was debated in the House of Commons; though many MPs voiced objection to the pamphlet, not one MP or Peer called for that pledge to be denied or removed.
While the 2015 Referendum Act did not specifically state that the referendum was binding, the purpose of the referendum was billed by all sides as the place at which the decision on the UK’s membership of the European Union would be made.
There would have been no point in calling a referendum if its result was not intended to be respected.
The government could have hired focus groups.

Over past decades, there has a been a long string of attempted challenges to the use of the prerogative power to extend EEC or EU powers, all of which have been rejected by the courts, sometimes in peremptory terms.
However, when the prerogative is used to achieve “less Europe” in order to implement the decision of the British people, which an Act of Parliament empowered them to do, it is suddenly found that there are limitations on the prerogative power which prevent it being used for this purpose.
So why should it be OK to have “more Europe” through exercise of the prerogative power, but wrong to have “less Europe” as a result of Article 50 being invoked and the direct effect parts of EU law ceasing to apply within the UK?

But there is another crucial point.
When Bills are presented in Parliament they are accompanied by a “Briefing Paper;” an outline; so even the dimmest Lib-Dem MP will know what he’s voting for or against.
The European Union Referendum Bill 2015-16 was no exception.
By invoking the Bill’s briefing paper in their ruling, the High Court referred to a paper that in one crucial respect undermines that ruling.
This is from the relevant section in that briefing paper, entitled, ‘Types of Referendum:’
“It [the referendum] does not contain any requirement for the UK Government to implement the results of the referendum, nor set a time limit by which a vote to leave the EU should be implemented. Instead, this is a type of referendum known as pre-legislative or consultative, which enables the electorate to voice an opinion which then influences the Government in its policy decisions.”
Anyone spot what the High Court missed?
The wording does not say that the result of the referendum is designed to influence PARLIAMENT, it says it is designed to influence “the GOVERNMENT.”
The reason why it says that is that it was widely understood that parliament had indeed transferred its sovereignty to the people, and that it would then be up to the Government (not Parliament) to take the process further, and implement the will of the people.
In other words, on 9th June 2015, MPs actually voted specifically for the Government to take action; to use the Royal Prerogative.
Like · Reply · 3 · 6 hrs
ART. 50 THE PLEDGE

DOES WIKILEAKS HOLD SECRET OF US BENGHAZI BETRAYAL?

By Terence Strong

TRUMP Donald 1As the race for the American presidency hots up to boiling point prior to the November election, you may be hearing more and more references to the Benghazi Attack in Libya in September 2012.
[These events were around a year after the setting of my new thriller (code-named WoW) during the uprising and overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi.]

So what happened and why is it so important?

In the months following Gaddafi’s death there were intelligence reports of steadily increasing instability and danger to American personnel in Libya, but no significant steps were taken to improve security.WOW - Gaddafi
On 11 September there was a co-ordinated attack against two separate US government “consulate” facilities in Benghazi by fighters of the Islamic militant group called Ansar al-Sharia.
It has been reported by a number of unsubstantiated sources that the diplomatic presence in Libya was a sham with no real political role to play.
Its real function was as CIA cover to smuggle sophisticated Gaddafi-regime weapons to the anti-Assad rebels in Syria, where another “Arab Spring” uprising had also kicked off (as today we know all too well).
An American diplomatic compound was attacked at 2140 hrs by rioters with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, supported by 14.5mm AA guns and mortars. During the assault US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Foreign Service information manager Sean Smith were killed.
BENGHAZI attackIn the early hours of the next morning, the terrorists opened up with a mortar attack on a CIA annexe a mile away which killed two CIA contractors and wounded ten others.
Although the attacks were initially described as “spontaneous” by the US administration, subsequent investigations suggested that the attacks were premeditated, although looters and opportunists may have also taken
part.
Before his death Ambassador Stevens tried three times before getting through to Deputy Chief of Mission Greg

Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens

Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens

Hicks in Tripoli to warn they were under attack. Hicks immediately notified all US agencies and prepared for immediate initiation of a pre-existing Emergency Response Plan.

At AFRICON, General Carter Ham attempted to mount a rescue operation,
but was ordered to “stand down.” This is critical, as by 2230 hours an unarmed drone had been deployed and was above the seized compound and streaming live feed to all Command and Control agencies, so everyone in the US Administration knew what was happening as it happened.
Much has been made by many – including testimony of three “whistle-blowers” – of the fact that no effort was made by American air assets to save the situation, abandoning the US ambassador and later the brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths.
The US Obama Administration claims “there were simply no military assets that could be brought to bear in time to make a difference”, mainly due to the unavailability of tanker support for fighter aircraft.
But, according to retired air ace Colonel Phil “Hands” Handley, that simply isn’t true. Handley insists that two squadrons of F16Cs were in readiness just across the Mediterranean at the Aviano Air Base in Italy. He has explained in great technical detail how when AFRICON alerted the 31st TFW Command Post there, the Wing Commander could have ordered the launch of two F16s and advised the Command Post at NAS Sigonella to prepare for hot pit refuelling and quick turn-round of the jets.
BENGHAZI F16s facingrightLeaving Sigonella around 0110 hours with full fuel, those aircraft would have covered the 377 miles to Benghazi by 0150 hours. Time enough, Handley claims, to strafe and break up the mobs before their second attack.

Why didn’t that happen? Some believe that some of the recently-disclosed Wikileak emails hold the answer.

They suggest that Ambassador Stevens was actually sent to the Benghazi consulate on an urgent mission to retrieve American-made Stinger surface-to-air missiles that had been secretly supplied to Ansar al Sharia without Congressional permission or oversight.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had brokered the deal previously through Stevens and a private arms dealer.
Some of those shoulder-fired Stingers had emerged in Afghanistan and had been used to bring down an American BENGAZI Chinook hitChinook helicopter the previous July. Luckily the missile hadn’t been properly armed so the target was not destroyed, but still had to land.
Subsequently the missile serial number was traced to a batch supposedly stored in Qatar by the CIA. It is assumed that is when President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton panicked and ordered Ambassador Stevens to rush to Benghazi and negotiate the return of the Stingers.
It was a desperate mission that would explain the seemingly inexplicable “stand down” rescue order given to USAF and multiple commando teams that would have been put on standby.
Apparently it was Clinton’s State Department – not the CIA – that authorised the transfer of some Stingers to the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is generally recognised that General Petraeus would never, ever have risked their possible use against commercial aircraft.
In fact, it was when Petraeus point blank refused to testify that the Benghazi killings were the result of a “spontaneous uprising” of Libyan locals over a YouTube video, that the President threw the general “under a bus.”New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton
It appears that the Taliban enemy in Afghanistan was aware that the Administration had aided and abetted their own enemy without Congressional approval and began pushing for the release of five Taliban generals in return for their silence.
What bizarre deal made the State Department think it was smart to provide the Taliban covertly with Stingers isBENGHAZI Arab fires stinger not yet established.
But it may explain the reluctance to launch a Benghazi rescue mission in Libya and have to answer questions if US Air Force fighters had been shot down by Stingers provided by Clinton’s own State Department.

#SAS STRIKE SHOCKS ISIS AT HQ IN SYRIA

scan0045by Terence Strong

Both American and British Special Forces have been supporting anti-Assad forces in Syria this year, in particular the rebel faction known as the New Syrian Army (NSA).

The British 22 Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) has been deploying small UKSF teams from Jordon to provide direct support to the rebels, including forward air control to co-ordinate strikes from allied aircraft.

New equipment is in play to replace traditional Supercat HMT400s and Land Rover Defenders. The new kid on the block is a militarised variant of the Toyota 4 x 4 pickup. Made by Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing, under licence from the Jankel Group, the Al-Thalab (or Fox) comprises a 79 series Land Cruiser chassis mounted with an open tubular superstructure.

SAS Al Thalab (Fox) 1This Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) is designed to travel 1,200 klicks without replen and sports a commander’s GPMG swing-mount and an aft-facing mount for a Grenade Machine Gun launcher.

As the stranglehold of Turkish forces is currently tightening around the city of Raqqa in Syria, which is the de facto capital of the Da’esh (or Islamic State) terror sect’s caliphate, word is emerging of a daring precursor assault by Britain’s elite SAS.

Rewind to the end of last year:
SYRIA tank in rubble
The sun is setting over the rubble-strewn wasteland that is the town of Raqqa.
Momentarily its rays glint on the wings of a loitering vulture , or is it a wraith, a figment of too much heat, too little water? So high, unseen, no sound to be heard from the ground far below.

An acrid smell of gunpowder now lingers permanently in the musky desert air from the constant air attacks on the city. It mixes with the more fragrant aromas of cooking, simple dishes as supplies of everything are running out, as womenfolk prepare evening meals. They are prepared by ghosts, women who are rarely seen in public. When they are, they are indistinguishable in their long, black burkas and invariably chaperoned by a male member of their family.

A beaten-up mini-bus makes its way into the town centre carrying a party of just such women.

There are CCTV camera at every junction and random checkpoints can appear anywhere at any time. It is so easy to break strict Da’esh rules: a woman not properly covering her hair, a man shaving his beard. Being lashed in public is a strong incentive to give up smoking or listening to music.

IS 3The mini-bus turns a corner and is confronted by a group of black-clad Islamic State militia armed with AK47s and manning a checkpoint. It is near to the civic building that has been commandeered as the ISIS Main Headquarters.

A fighter flags down the van, waves his weapon. The bus slows and the driver winds down his window. He is a thin man with a pointy ferret-like face.

He is sweating. It is humid and he is scared. He waves his papers at the fighter, who looks at them, pretending he can read.

The fighter is angry, probably with himself for being badly educated. ‘Where are you going?’

The driver jerks his thumb over his shoulder. There seven women seated in the back, one other in the passenger seat beside him. All are dressed from head to foot in black burkas. Only the eyes of the women are visible, although most still turn their heads away in a show of modesty.

‘To ISIS Headquarters,’ the driver replied. ‘These are the wives of our leaders. It is the birthday of one of them today. There will be a celebration tonight. Al-Baghdadi himself is expected.’

At the mention of the ISIS leader’s nom de guerre, the fighter takes a backward step. Momentarily he speculates about one woman who holds his gaze for a moment. She has blue eyes, sexy long lashes. Then he quickly changes his mind and waves them through.
The driver breathes again, engages first gear and nearly stalls in his haste to get away.
After a couple of turnings he pulls over. The woman in the front passenger seat shakes her head and indicates to move a little farther up the deserted street, to a dark space between two bomb-scorched trees. There the mini-bus stops, its engine left to grumble noisily.

None of the women speak. The one next to the driver produces a pair of small but powerful binoculars from beneath her burka and focuses on the road.

Nowadays there is little commercial traffic in Raqqa; there is no business to speak of, just subsistence trade, so little reason to do anything or go anywhere. That’s if petrol is even available to you
.
So it was easy to pick up the convoy of three sand-coloured pick-ups coming towards them.

‘On time,’ the woman said. ‘Our man and two escort vehicles. Good intel.’
The driver managed a nervous laugh and scratches his beard. ‘I never let you down yet.’
The woman focused on the middle vehicle as it drove past. ‘That’s our target. In the back.On his own.’

The driver has produced his own binoculars now. ‘That is him,’ he confirmed.
‘Let’s go,’ the woman said.

The mini-bus jolted forward, bumped its way onto the crumbling carriageway and followed the last of the convoy of pick-ups speeding in the direction of Sharksa Mosque.
To everyone’s surprise, the chase was over almost before it has begun. Unexpectedly the DRONE ATTACKIS convoy pulled over, just beyond the Clock Roundabout. IS henchmen pile out of the pickups and form a defensive circle around their leader as he entered a large building.
Once he has disappeared, his henchmen relax. It didn’t look as though they were expecting their leader to come out again any time soon.

The mini-bus had pulled over, again the woman in the front passenger seat was watching through binoculars. ‘I think we’ve got him. Can you read the co-ordinates?’
‘Roger that,’ said a woman in the back.

‘Transmitting,’ another woman began. ‘Tango Sierra Five to Polythemus. I have hostile Target Black 20…’

High and far away the AWACS missile control aircraft of the US Air Force received the transmission and forwarded it to the controller of the Reaper drone that had earlier been mistaken for a vulture by a farmer on the outskirts of Raqqa.

The Reaper jerked visibly as the instruction arrived and it changed direction, moving in a gigantic circle and increasing its speed.

At their position near the Clock Roundabout, the eight women and the driver of the mini-bus did not see the approach of the Reaper or the release of its Hellfire missiles.
They did, however, witness the blinding pulse of light as the Hellfires struck the building which the ISIS commander had just entered. The mini-bus shook as the ground beneath it vibrated under the impact, causing the building to explode and its inhabitants to be instantly vaporised.

‘Let’s go,’ the front passenger said. ‘Pronto!’

The driver needed no encouragement. He jerked the gear lever into first and pressed the accelerator to the floor. The front wheels spun out a cloud of dust in their eagerness to get away. The driver hurtled his passengers through the city streets as the IS fighters responded quickly to the attack.

Reaction was much faster than the attackers had anticipated.

The town of Raqqa went into immediate lockdown. Radio traffic was instantly jammed, airwaves clogged. Within minutes the word was out of the attack. Gunmen were on the streets stopping everyone. Anyone out and about was being lined up against the nearest wall, accused of helping foreign spies. The infidel enemy was sending women spies to do their fighting, rather than men.

That was when the group of three IS gunmen confronted the escaping mini-bus. Strung out across the road, the gunmen ordered the women to exit their transport.

‘Allah akbar!’ their leader yelled excitedly. ‘Get out with your hands up! You shall walk to heaven with no heads to see your God or hear His voice!’

The driver dropped down from the mini-bus and obediently slid open the side door to allow the women to descend one by one.

And, one by one the women descended to form an orderly line.
The ISIS gunmen were bemused, hardly believing they had actually caught these suspect women who appeared so calm and harmless.
SAS in burkhas
At that point the burkas were thrown aside and all hell broke loose. Two four-man bricks of the SAS opened fire with a hail of bullets from concealed AKs. One gunman died instantly and the other two turned and ran for their lives, throwing aside their weapons.
The women climbed back into the mini-bus and made good their escape.

To this day there is speculation that this was an operation mounted by “The Increment”, specifically on the orders of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) .
“The Increment” is otherwise known as E Squadron SAS. Not the SAS, but of the SAS. Former veterans recruited from various branches of British Special Forces and working together to perform incredible military feats.

Likened by some irreverently to Jesus Christ and His Apostles.
SAS skull wearing beret-C
#Syria # Raqqa #22SAS #SASR #NewSyrianArmy SupercatHMT #LandRoverDefender #Jankel #AlTHALAB #Daesh #IslamicState

WHAT YOU ARE ‘NOT’ VOTING FOR IN THE EU REFERENDUM

by CHRIS BAIRD

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about June 23rd, and people want to know the facts. Here are some of them.

We are not voting to leave the European Economic Area (EEA) or the World Trade Organisation (WTO). That means all of the UK’s trade and benefit agreements will remain unchanged should we leave, until such a time that the UK decides to renegotiate them for any reason.

We are not voting to leave NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) meaning our security agreements remain unchanged. Should we suffer an act of hostility from a non-NATO member, then NATO countries are obliged to come to our assistance. This does not change.

NATO HQ - with symbol & flagsWe are not voting to leave the United Nations (UN), G8 or G20 top world financial groups, meaning Britain will have the same voice on the world stage as it does today.

We are certainly not voting to leave Europe. The UK will still, geographically, be recognised as part of Europe.

Importantly, “non-political” organisations aligned to Europe will still extend membership to the UK (i.e. sports governing bodies, and so on).

We are not voting to stop recognising Interpol, Europol and neither are you voting for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) to stop dealing with other intelligence services in the fight against terrorism and global organised crime.

We are not voting against being able to travel to Europe – contrary to the belief of some fools recently on TV.

The UK has always maintained stricter border and passport controls than many other EU members. This will not change. We will still use a passport to go on holiday and we will still beAIRPORT arrivals-C allowed entry to countries in Europe. We may even get the chance to skip queues by using the non–EU queues at the airport (the only point so far that is my opinion, and not necessarily a fact).

The UK economy will benefit to the tune of £billions in the first year after we leave.

Medical and science research will not simply stop. The UK pays into the EU to then get money MEDICAL research 2back in the form of funding. Now the UK will be in control of this money and can choose to support whatever UK based medical, science, art or other research it chooses.

Farming will not lose money because of EU funding being cut. The UK negotiated a rebate of some monies that the UK pays to the EU, in order to subsidise UK farmers. Instead of asking for our money back, we can give it straight to farmers. No change there.

We are not voting against human rights. The EU Convention on, and European Court of Human Rights are not part of the EU. Until parliament passes a new “Bill of Rights” for the UK, these will still apply, as will other precedents already passed down to UK courts from Brussels.

We are not voting to kick anyone out of the UK or block access to anyone. Neither are we voting to stop recruiting valuable European workers into organisations like the NHS.

The UK is already outside of the “Schengen Zone” and so migrant workers must enter the UK with a valid passport both now and after June 23rd. That will not change.

REFUGEE QUESTION 22 (2016)British border authorities maintain full control of who comes and goes. Should someone have the skills to apply to work in the NHS,for example, they will still be permitted travel and given an opportunity to apply for a job.

A points-based assessment, like that applied in the US, Canada and Australia, may come into effect. However, I believe the UK is more likely to negotiate freedom of labour movement though, in exchange for freedom of goods movement.

We are not voting to move jobs nor production out of the UK. The EU actually helped fund the move of Ford Transit production from the UK to Turkey. Yes, the EU helped give UK jobs to people in Turkey by giving Ford a loan of £80m on very generous terms.

What we are mostly voting for is UK sovereignty.

HOUSE of COMMONSWe are voting to stay in or leave a political union of leaders and representatives that British people did not elect. We are voting against a Commission of unelected, elite men who no one at all voted for and yet make life-changing decisions on our behalf.

We are simply voting to bring sovereignty back to Westminster, and that is all.

If you worry about that because you don’t like the current Conservative government, look at the reality. Their majority in parliament is very slim. They have been blocked on big decisions already. You are therefore not giving sovereignty to David Cameron, but to the UK house of elected representatives. Do not be fooled by the fear campaigns that are simply run by the wealthy, who need EU money to thrive. Think about your future, your country’s future and your children’s future.BREXIT 31 Independence Day

FARMING IN THE EUSSR

– THE ROLLING STEPPES OF ANGLIA
Dixie Hughesby Dixie Hughes

If you’re too young to remember the harsh Communist-run Soviet Union (the USSR) and the long-running Cold War, which ended with the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1988, then you probably don’t get the joke of referring to the European Union as the EUSSR.
FARMING Soviet tractor
Well it’s become a bad joke and the comparison has become a bit too close for comfort. The EU’s petty regulations, edicts, decrees and directives rule our lives in the UK in ways we are not even aware. From decreeing the maximum size container in which vegetable oil can be sold (5 litre) to how far away new housing must be from ‘heathland’ *(5 km) so as to protect certain wild birds from domestic cats.

(*Of course, even ‘heathland’ itself is specifically defined by EU regulation as well, which has raised a few disagreeing eyebrows.)

This foreign and authoritarian micro-management hits British farmers especially hard.

Naturally DEFRA (the UK’s Department of the Environment, Farming & Rural Affairs – much loved by country folk) and UK farmers have a multitude more EU petty regulations and directives to contend with – courtesy of the notorious and incoherent Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

FARMERS measuring 2Just some of these determine: how many farm inspections there have to be in any given year; what proportion of those inspections have to be random; how much the fine will be if a farmer makes a mistake; how much he should be fined if he makes the same mistake twice.

A new one you may have heard about is: the precise dimensions of the EU plaque or billboard declaring that a farm is ‘EU funded’ – even though that funding can only be provided by the contribution of UK taxpayers to the CAP! This is legally enforceable with fines for failure to comply.

But struggling Farmer Giles has much more to contend with from the EU. Like the maximum permitted width of a gateway; the minimum and maximum permitted thickness of a hedge; what type of crop must be grown in the field beyond that hedge; whether a cabbage and a cauliflower are different crops or should be deemed the same crop.

The list interminably spewing out of Brussels goes on and on. Compliance with this plethora of farming regulations is enforced through a complex and dysfunctional system of penalties called ‘Disallowance’.

FARMERS reading regsAuditors working for the EU levy fixed fines on the UK government for any perceived breaches in the enforcement or administration of regulations.

However hard DEFRA and UK farmers try to abide by these myriad rules, it is inevitable that the British taxpayer is routinely stung by fines.

The UK is routinely fined some £100 million a year for a multitude of trivial perceived mistakes, few of which have any relevance to anything.

However, as with every other aspect of the EUSSR, the Common Agricultural Policy has proved completely impossible to change, ruthless and uncompromising.

Even if a farmer misses a support payment application because his wife is dying of cancer, the unforgiving system moves on like a tank and he is denied.

Of course, after BREXIT, the decision on vital subsidies to farmers will be purely a decision for Westminster. However, with flush coffers, a British Chancellor will now have the money to spend on farming where it is critically
needed.

Written & published for the independent TWITTER account

Free Britannia  @Free Britannia
FARM ANIMALS mixed

COULD SOMEONE TRUMP TRUMP?

                Former Education Secretary under President Ronald Reagan and political pundit & host of the ‘Morning in America’ show

BENNETT Bill Morning in AmericaBILL BENNETT

is afraid that someone might

Bill Bennett claims he was recently told by a credible but unnamed source: ‘Don’t be surprised if Trump has an accident.’ POKER - Donald Trump Some big names are getting a bit twitchy. Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton and Jon Corzine were just a few people mentioned by the source, who may be feeling a bit hot under the collar. Not that any of them would think of hiring an assassin – or even know how to. ACE of Spades

Apparently it’s all about the unholy alliance of big government, big business, big media and big bucks. They all enjoy the billions of dollars generated from the partnership, so it’s in all of their best interests to protect one another. All for one and one for all. But it’s a grubby relationship that makes everyone ‘filthy rich’ except the American people themselves.

Bennet says they’re the patsies, the ones who get ripped off. But – for once – the strong socialist lobby and corrupt crony capitalists are both scared. The over-the-top reaction to Donald Trump by both sides, the media and big American corporations has been so quick and incandescent that it suggests they feel seriously under threat. And, frankly, frightened.

The thing is, Donald Trump is his own man. He can fund himself. No matter how much is said to the contrary, the media, big business and the political establishment all realise that Trump is truly the joker in the pack. He could really upset their cosy apple-cart – to mess up not a few metaphors, too. It is no accident that the entire political establishment has united so quickly to destroy The Trump.

TRUMP Donald 1Because, the truth of it is, most other politicians are members of the Old Boys’ Club to which The Trump has never belonged. They may talk big, but they can’t change a thing because they are all beholden to big-money donors. These politicians are all owned by lobbyists, unions, lawyers, big environmental organisations and multinational corporations, like oil or pharmaceuticals.

Or, according to Bennett, they are owned lock-stock-and-barrel by foreigners. Like Obama is aNew York, Hillary Rodham Clinton slave to George Soros and Hillary is shackled to those who donate to the Clinton Foundation. Bennett argues that these mainstream politicians are all puppets controlled by big money. But The Trump is not beholden to anyone. This is one politician who does not need any foreigner, foreign government, George Soros, multiple trade unions or the lawyers’ Bar Association to pay for his campaign.

Billionaire tycoon Donald Trump doesn’t need anyone’s help. He doesn’t care what the media says. He doesn’t care what corporate or political elites think. That makes him very dangerous to vested interests, because they can’t get to him. He is The Untouchable.

That makes The Trump a huge threat to those people, says Bennet, because he can ruin everything for the bribed politicians and their spoiled slave masters. Bennett asks why the GOP never tried to impeach President Obama?OBAMA barak concern Also why John Boehner and Mitch McConnell talked a big game but never really tried to stop the President? Does anyone wonder why Congress, which holds the purse strings, never tried to unfund Obamacare or the President’s perceived illegal executive action on amnesty for illegal immigrants? Bennett claims this defies all logic.

He claims his best guess is that many key Republicans are being bribed and others blackmailed. That may be that they are having elicit affairs, are secretly gay or are filching money from the public purse…the National Security Agency, Bennett says, knows everything about everyone. NSA He cites the example of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The government even knew he was withdrawing large sums of his own money from his own bank account. The NSA, the SEC, the IRS and all the other three-letter government agencies are watching every Republican political player. They scrutinise everything.

Bennett also believes that many Republicans are terrified of being labelled ‘racists’. For that reason they hesitate to ever criticise Obama or name his perceived ‘crimes’, let alone campaign for his impeachment. And anyway, Bennett argues why would they rock the boat? After defeat or retirement, if you’re a ‘good old boy’ you land a $5 million-a-year lobbying job at the very least. The big-money interests have the system covered. There’s no win or lose for them, it’s always win-win.

But The Trump doesn’t play by any of these rules. Donald Trump breaks up the nice cosy relationship between big government, big media and big business. All those rules will be out of the window if Trump enters the White House. Other politicians may protect Obama, but not Trump.

It was he who publically questioned Obama’s birth certificate. He dared to query Obama’s college records and how a mediocre student got into an Ivy League university? Bennett points out that Trump is now doing what no Republican has ever had the ‘chutzpah’ to do.

He’s actually questioning America’s relationship with Mexico. Why is the border still wide open? Is allowing millions of illegal immigrants in America’s best interests? And why are they not deported when so many commit crimes of violence? And why are Washington’s trade deals with Mexico, Russia and China so bad?

Trump has the audacity to ask aloud why American workers always seem to get a raw deal? Bennett is certain Trump will question what happened to the $billion dollars given in a rigged no-bid contact to former college friends of Michelle Obama in foreign companies to build the defective Obamacare website. Bennett claims the tab for that disaster has now hit $5billion. He reckons Trump will demand that Obamacare’s architects be charged with fraud for selling it under false pretences. Obama’s college records will be small fry compared to a Trump investigation into the alleged widespread IRS conspiracy.

Trump will prosecute Clinton and Obama, Bennett believes, for fraud committed to cover up Benghazi before the last election. Also in the firing line may be the employees of the Labor Department who allegedly falsified dramatically improved jobs numbers just prior to the 2012 vote. Obama, the multinationals and the media all feel The Trump must be stopped at all costs.

According to Bennett, all are afraid things will get out of control with the raw truth being told in answer to questions that everyone else has been afraid to ask. The man’s election would be a living nightmare for them, because no one but Trump would dare to prosecute. If Trump gets in and looks at the books and Obama’s records, the game will be over, Bennett says. OBAMACARE logo Obamacare will be de-funded and dismantled. Obama himself could wind up ruined, his legacy in tatters. Because Trump will investigate and he will prosecute. He will go after everyone involved. There will be no hiding place. That is why the dogs of hell have been unleashed, claims Bennett. DOGS of HELL 1 And that is why it is now Open Season on Donald Trump. Both Left and Right are out to attack his policies, damage his businesses and – if possible – keep him out of coming public debates. ‘But they can’t silence him,’ Bennett says. ‘And they sure can’t intimidate him. The more they try, the more the public will realise that he is the one telling the truth.’ TRUMP supporters

‘BREXIT’ – HOW THE EU REFERENDUM WILL WORK

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that a National Referendum is to be held on Britain’s continuing membership of the European Union on

Thursday 23 June 2016.

WHO CAN VOTE?
As with Parliamentary Elections, British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens (aged over 18) who live in Britain – and British nationals who have lived overseas for less than 15 years – will be permitted to vote in the EU Referendum.

 Additionally members of the House of Lords – and citizens of Gibraltar who are eligible to vote in EU parliamentary elections – will be allowed to vote.

Other citizens of EU countries living in Britain – other than those of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta – WILL NOT have a vote.

 WHAT IS THE QUESTION?
The question on the ballot paper will read:

“Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

Voters choose between two answers:
Remain a member of the European Union
Or
Leave the European Union
BREXIT Election 5  Poll FormHOW LONG WILL THE CAMPAIGN LAST?
EU Referendum law demands a campaign period of at least 10 weeks prior to voting.

Before the official campaign period can begin, legislation must be passed through Parliament to set out the details of the vote, including its date. The Government anticipates that process to take around six weeks.

HOW MUCH CAN THE CAMPAIGN GROUPS SPEND?
For the duration of the campaign, the Electoral Commission (Britain’s electoral watchdog) can designate a leading ‘group’ on each side of the debate. Those lead groups may each spend up to £7 million and receive a public grant of £600,000 from the taxpayer. Each is also allowed campaign media broadcasts and one free postal mailing to voters.

Any OTHER campaigning groups can each spend up to a £700,000 limit. Anyone intending to support such groups and the groups themselves must declare any donations above £7,500 received after 1st February 2016.
BREXIT Election 1-C
HOW MUCH CAN POLITCAL PARTIES SPEND?
Spending limits for Political Parties are governed by the percentage of the vote they won in last year’s General Election.
Therefore the ruling Conservative Party of Prime Minister David Cameron can spend up to £7 million, the Labour Party £5.5 million, the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) £4 million and the Liberal Democrats £3 million. All other parties are limited to £700,000.

BREXIT Election 3-CHowever, the Conservative Party has promised that it will remain neutral, allowing no Party funds, personnel or facilities to be used by either side of the argument.
It is not so clear whether the European Union itself will feel legally constrained from bringing its powerful and extravagant influence to bear on the UK voters’ decision-making process.

HOW WILL THE GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGN?
Nevertheless David Cameron has declared that he will campaign with all his “heart and soul” to persuade voters to stay in the European Union, warning that to leave will be “a leap in the dark”.

No 10’s influence has quickly been used to persuade big business names to back its view to ‘Stay’, but there have noticeably been twice as many decliners than those who agreed to sign letters to the media.

Similarly favours have been called in from former MOD top brass now in the House of Lords to express security concerns over exiting the EU, despite the fact that it is NATO, not Brussels, that is responsible for defence.
Interestingly, General David Richards did not participate.

The official Government position is to back ‘Stay’, but six of the Prime Minister’s top Cabinet members have so far rebelled to campaign for ‘Leave’ the EU. After some hesitation, top MP and London Mayor, Boris Johnson has lent his considerable weight to the ‘Leave’ side.

A ’Purdah’ will be applied to the government itself, barring it from publishing anything in the 28 days prior to the Referendum that could influence the outcome of the vote.

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE DAY?
Polling will be open from 7am-10pm GMT. Counting will begin at the earliest time possible and will continue overnight.

Twelve counting centres will be used for collating votes and the final result declared in Manchester.
BREXIT Election 4-C This article was especially written for
TWITTER account
FREE BRITANNIA @Free_Britannia

DEAL OR NO DEAL? What Cameron actually got from the EU

British Prime Minister David Cameron claimed in triumph that he had agreed a “new settlement” with the European Union.

But how does that Brussels deal actually square with his original declared aims of what he wanted for the United Kingdom?

Closer Political Union

The UK wanted explicit exemption from the EU’s commitment to ever-closer integration of all nations into a single federal European state.
EU 41 -USE flag
The UK got an unqualified and undefined promise that “the United Kingdom…is not committed to further political integration in the European Union. References to ever-closer union do not apply to the United Kingdom.”

Previous acts of integration remain and are irreversible.

Economic Governance

The UK wanted guaranteed protection for the City of London from any disadvantaging decisions made by the ‘Eurozone’ countries, which was considered by Chancellor George Osborne to be a crucial issue.
CITY of LONDON 2
The UK got a vague promise to ensure “the coexistence between two different perspectives.” Britain can delay some decisions by the 19 Eurozone nations and force a summit discussion between all 28 national leaders. But the UK has no veto.

Welfare

The UK wanted EU migrants to be banned from claiming in-work benefits (until they had contributed to the welfare system) for four years – effectively an “emergency brake” that could be applied for up to the next13 years.
JOBLESS
The UK got permission to apply that brake for only the next 7 years. It cannot affect those already in the UK and cannot be introduced until late 2017.

Child Benefit

The UK wanted to implement the Tory manifesto pledge to end child benefit to EU workers who leave their children back in their native country. This currently applies to only some 40,000 families.
CHILDREN East Europe-C
The UK got agreement vaguely to adjust payments only to new migrants that will be linked to their cost-of-living back in their home nation. This will only start to apply to workers already here from 2020.

This item was written for the independent

TWITTER ACCOUNT

Free Britannia @Free_Britannia

‘Be informed’

 

HOW THE EU REALLY WORKS – IT MAY SHOCK YOU

According to recent revelations, the European Union is run on the lines that Adolf Hitler had pretty much planned to organise and administer the Fourth Reich once he had conquered the Continent.

Adolf Hitler-C

It also resembles the structure of the former Communist Soviet Union, giving rise to that joke about the EU being the EUSSR – a joke that’s starting to wear a bit thin.
Nominally there are three decision-making bodies in the European Union. They are the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Council of Ministers.

However the real power rests completely within the European Commission, which is selected and issues its diktats in such a secretive and random manner that it draws strong comparisons with old Communist Russia.

This EU Commission comprises 27 member countries and is re-formed once every five years, within six months of elections for the European Parliament.
The essential point to remember here is that the EU Commission is totally independent of all national governments. Its sole purpose is to represent and uphold the interests of the entire EU as a single entity.
GRAPHIC-162-EU logo -CThe main consequence of this is that the EU Commission is a law totally unto itself. It is accountable to nobody and exercises its own absolute arbitrary power.

Each President of that Commission is elected after secret deliberations between the governments of the member states. It should be remembered that the Commission President is the single most powerful political position within the entire EU. He or she has vastly greater powers than any individual country’s President or Prime Minister.

You might imagine that there would be uproar if individual democratic nations like Britain, Spain, France or Germany selected their Presidents and Prime-Ministers in such a manner. Not through proper elections, but by back-door horse-trading between political parties. Only the Soviet Russia of old, Communist China and other Communist countries like North Korea elect government in such a fashion.

Yet in the EU this is considered acceptable by all its member states. No wonder there are howls of protest from those who believe in transparent democracy and the importance of national sovereignty.

Once chosen, the President selects the other Commissioners, again through secret discussionsEU 38 Parliament with the member state governments.

It should be stressed that the EU President and its Commissioners are not MPs, MEPs, or democratically elected officials in any way. Most have never been elected to any office in their lives, yet they hold absolute and arbitrary power in the EU solely on the basis of having been secretly appointed to the Commission.

It is only then up to the European Parliament of elected MEPs to ‘approve’ the appointment of the proposed Commission members – not individually, but as a whole block of 27 people – amazingly by secret ballot and without debate.

With many MEPs being lackeys of the governments of member states – and with the secret ballot facilitating behind the scenes horse-trading and influence peddling – this ‘approval’ is nothing more than a cynical ‘rubber stamp’. It is done this way every time there is a new European Commission.

EU 13With arbitrary and unchecked power,  the European Commission alone dictates what legislation to initiate or repeal.

Commission diktats (directives or regulations) are formulated – again- in covert negotiations with interest groups, advisory bodies, non-government organisations (NGOs) and other unelected ‘public service’ busybodies and power-brokers.

This is like an open and festering wound of potential corruption and unacceptable influence without any form of countering antibiotic.

Once drafted through this process, any New Legislation is presented to the European Parliament. It in turn assigns various Committees of MEPs to examine the detail. Yet even the make-up of these Committees is determined indirectly by the Commission’s choice of which “competence” to use as its justification for the legislation in question.

Again, those Committees work through secretive deliberations with EU Ministers and civil servants, who give directives to political groups in the European Parliament so as to ensure the passage of its proposals.

Such laws are presented to the European Parliament only at the discretion of the European GRAPHIC-92-London(Sky)Commission. A new law is only presented for an up or down vote in a set-up where there is virtually no debate – MEPs are allowed to speak for at most one minute per person. As the actual EU legislative history shows, this ‘parliamentary ratification’ amounts to nothing more than the proverbial rubber stamp.

So it can be seen by anyone that the European Parliament has no power whatever.

MEPs are nominated by political parties in various European countries, so they are not elected directly by voters. Not always realised is that EU parliamentary elections only decide how many seats will be allotted to each party. The actual choice of the MEPs is entirely up to the party, not the voters.

This naturally means that – except for UKIP in Britain and a few other anti-EU parties – MEPs are generally lackeys of the EU. Under such circumstances there is no more opposition to the dictatorial Commission in the European Parliament than there was to Stalin in the Supreme Soviet.

The final decision-making body in this international democratic sham is the EU Council of Ministers.

Unsurprisingly the composition of this Council is also skewed. Member states assign to the Council those ministers who are most acquescent to the EU and will most readily go along with any diktat from the European Commission. Again, the history of EU legislation demonstrates that the Council of Ministers lacks any real authority whatsoever.
LION slave-C
Any objective conclusion is crystal-clear: The EU is virtually a bona fide Communist bloc run by its own Politburo (the European Commission) vested with the kind of absolute power of which Lenin or Stalin would have been proud.

Once EU laws are approved by the Council of Ministers and become European Law, they are presented to the British and other national parliaments. Here they can be debated them and a note made of certain provisions.

However, this is pointless because the only effective response an elected parliament may have is to invoke its ‘national veto’.

Originally a ‘national veto’ was supposed to guarantee the sovereignty of each EU member state but, as it is virtually never used, it has become obsolete. In fact even this measure will be lost forever in 2017 when new EU provisions are scheduled to revoke the veto power of individual states altogether.

The final chilling note is that EU LAWS ARE THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND THROUGHOUT EU TERRITORY, superseding the national laws and even the Constitutions of member nations. British and other national Courts are required to follow EU law unquestioningly, without the option to declare it ‘unconstitutional’ as can be done with domestic laws.
.
Under these existing conditions it is clear that there is no ‘middle road’, ‘compromise,’ or ‘reform’ possible, such as Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed to have achieved prior to the promised EU Referendum.

It is a stark IN or OUT choice between national sovereignty and independent self-rule outside the EU – or perennial subjugation under the collective dictatorship of the political elite in Brussels to be known as the United States of Europe.

This article was written for the independent TWITTER account

Free Britannia @ Free_Britannia

‘Be informed’
BREXIT 20 Bulldog

WHY ISLAM IS AT WAR WITH ITSELF

Before the arrival of the Prophet Mohammed in the 7th century AD, the Arab world of the desert nomads believed mostly in the fiery spirits of the dunes and numerous other gods, as well as the patron gods of individual towns.

Although in the Arabian Peninsula and the surrounding regions, the influences of Judaism and Christianity had gradually become recognised in some areas.

Amongst the numerous deities of the time, Allah (the God) was rising above all others to be accepted as “the creator, provider and decider of human destiny”. Followers of Mohammed’s teachings grew into a powerful Islamic force to be reckoned with in a dark time of general immorality, violence and blood feuds.

Muslim armies broke out of Arabia and defeated the Persians (today’s Iranians, who are not ArabsARABIAN DESERT 4 and speak the Farsi language), putting an end to their Sasanian empire.

Thirty years after Mohammed’s death in 632AD, a row began over who should succeed the great prophet and become the ruler (or Caliph) of the rapidly growing Muslim empire (or Caliphate).

Descendants of the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, believed it should be them. They formed the breakaway Shi’ite movement when, five years into his reign, Ali was assassinated and his two sons were denied succession by the rival Sunni faction.

To this day, the Shi’ites resent this historic act and hold a deep grudge against the religious opposition, the Sunnis, who were able to go on to claim the holiest of Islamic shrines, Mecca and Medina, to be on their land.

Fast-forward some 1,500 years and that land is now Saudi Arabia, which has only been in formal existence since 1932.

IRAN 1-CMeanwhile the Shi’ites have gone on to become the majority of the population in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain. Everywhere else is mostly Sunni. A status quo had developed in which the relaxed Sunni Arab Gulf States, headed by the Saudi Arabian monarchy , enjoyed friendly relations with the Shah of Shi’ite Iran and were happy to allow his navy to become police constable of the Gulf waters.

At this time Westerners and locals, in either Iran or Saudi Arabia, could wallow in alcohol-driven decadence and a very liberal lifestyle.

That was to come to a shuddering halt in 1979 with arrival of the radical Iranian Revolution and the deposing of the Shah of Iran. Almost overnight a contest arose between the two countries as to which was the most strict and worthy of being leaders of the Islamic world.

While Iran’s ayatollahs declared their intention to export of their Islamic revolution in defiance of the corrupt and unworthy monarchy of Riyadh, Saudi royalty responded by proving itself to be even more Islamic than its radical Islamic rivals.

Shaken by events, the House of Saud decided that its ultimate survival would be determined by its ARABIAN DESERT 7devotion to the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, which allowed strict clerics a say in public life, education, justice and social behaviour.

This has resulted confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, each promoting and contesting its own version of Islam, each trying to out- do the other.

Iran has spawned Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. It also backs the current majority Shi’ite governments of Iraq, Syria and the Houthi rebels of Yemen. Sunni Saudi Arabia stands accused of bankrolling Islamic jihadist extremism in the form of al-Qaeda and Da’esh (aka Islamic State).
ARABIAN DESERT 3
The battle between the two ancient religious ideologies – and the political and historical baggage attached to them – threatens to drag the entire modern world into its apocalyptic war of madness.