EU Rule 165 exposed. Viva La Vanguardia!

EU Assembly and Rule 165
All of one mind? 

The Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia has published a news item about Rule 165, one of the EU's little known secrets. 

Revealed is an example of Orwellian control and deception that Josef Stalin* would have been proud of.   

I quote here from Free West Media. Please visit the link in the sidebar to read their report. The underlinings are mine. 

Under Rule 165, not made public by the Assembly but first reported by Spain's La Vanguardia unwanted material could be deleted from the audio-visual recording of the proceedings.  

Brussels lawmakers have now been granted special powers to limit live broadcasts of parliamentary debates and to remove video or audio material.

"This undermines the reliability of the Parliament's archives," said Tom Weingaertner, president of the Brussels branch of the International Press Association. 


In other words, if someone makes a controversial speech or an unsuitable comment or raises an objection or waves his country's flag or holds up a protest banner in the EU Parliament (e.g. perhaps to bring attention to an issue such as TTIP or CETA secrecy) the relevant audio-video material can now be legally expunged* from the official record by the the EU's legal department and no EU citizen will ever know what was discussed or said unless there happens to be a reporter present who is prepared to reveal the true facts; in other words an honest journalist prepared to put his career on the line.  

It's not for nothing that there's a George Orwell Square in the centre of Barcelona! 

Viva La Vanguardia! 

The EU Maze 
- easier to get in than out?

*expunged
Historical reminder: The communists expunged all references to the Hitler-Stalin pact.

A Baby Colobus and Vladimir the Orangutan

Yesterday I went to the Vienna zoo.  They say it's the oldest zoo in the world.

There was a cold and penetrating breeze and many animals wisely chose to stay indoors.

My favourite animals are the primates. Maybe we are more similar than we care to think.

Four Colobus Monkeys share an enclosure with about twenty Meerkats. Everyone appears to get on well together.

The Meerkats were outside in the morning but when I returned at midday they had gone underground. I waited a while but they didn't return. Perhaps they were sleeping.

The baby Colobus often peers over the edge of the platform or tries to climb higher.

Now and then one of the parents stretches out a protective arm and gently guides the inexperienced youngster away from potential danger.

A lady told me the Orangutang I photographed is called Vladimir.

There are four Orangutans living together. Vladimir has just filled his cup with fresh water from a tap on the wall behind him.

He sips his water slowly, taking care not to spill it.  Then he goes for a walk and a 'think'.

Lastly a look at those cold weather specialists the Humboldt Penguins who are clearly enjoying themselves.

Bookshops are closing - (A short story)

In town just now, I noticed another bookshop has closed.

It was one the English bookshops.

As it happens it's the shop where I found a copy of Submission after the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Submission is a prophetic work, as was 1984,  and it's essential reading in today's Europe.

This raises the question: Who reads serious books today?

The sight of a young person reading a novel, even a Dan Brown thriller, on a bus or a tram journey is a rarity.

If a youngster reads anything, and I use the word reads in its loosest context, it will be the garish free sheet from the newspaper bin at the bus station.

From the age of 10 onwards children will hypnotically thumb through the apps and the pictures and the emails on their mobile phones.

If they put the phone away you can almost guarantee it'll be out again in two minutes and the process will continue, perhaps hoping for another 25 facebook friends.

There 's a word for this.

Fomo.

It means frightened of missing out.

A recent survey claims that 50% of secondary school students in the city cannot or will not speak the official language - German - outside of the classroom.

For them it's Turkish, Albanian, Arabic, French, Rumanian, Serbian . . .  and English.

One day all the book shops will be gone.

And one day in the future it's possible that one of today's youngsters will search his computer for Submission or 1984 to download or to read on line or to order a paper copy and get the onscreen reply:

Search negative. Please try another title.

It could happen.

Easy.

As easy as switching off their plastic money in their cashless society.

Control will be complete.