From the Summit of the Moral High Ground

It is now a few months since the incumbents were elected and they have had time to settle in and begin to publish what they see as the justifications not only for their salaries but for the existence of the government in Jersey. The number one stated priority is 'job creation'. It is very easy to create work, work that does not need to be done. We already have the highest percentage of people employed in government funded jobs anywhere in the world. Of course in recent years they have become adroit at pretending that these government jobs are not government jobs at all, at least for the purposes of statistics but fundamentally anyone whose income is either paid directly by the government or by government funds paid to a third party is a government employee. There is already a government career path (notionally of last resort) mapped out for every person who has resided in Jersey for five years; that of welfare case. As a job it is fundamentally unfulfilling, there are hoops to ...

Philip Ozouf in his pre-hair transplant days An utterly transparent attempt at public opinion management has transpired in the last week which simply cannot go unmentioned. Firstly the Managing Director of local construction firm Camerons publicly stated in the press that he is so incompetent at his job that he requires public funding to the tune of £40 million or so otherwise his company will have to close. My first concern is why a Managing Director of any firm would publicly admit that he is not capable of operating his company, clearly the shareholders of Camerons have to be concerned. Secondly, one wonders what difference his salary makes to the viability of the company. The very next day, Ozouf bravely agrees with the news that he has only just heard the day before in the paper and agrees to spend £40 million pounds on 'New Deal' type public works to save the 'construction industry' in Jersey. I have examined the construction industry  before and now more than eve...

No evil shall escape my sight! Super-heroes don't do committees Their power rests with the individual At the last election we were told that people voted for Sir Pip because they wanted change, because they wanted someone who would take the fight to the bureaucrats and solve the woes of the people. The Pip Bailhache the People of Jersey thought they were electing However the reality appears that Pip Bailhache is no super-hero who armed with his Green Lantern ring and the power of his will alone will successfully battle the evil forces of bureaucracy and indifference. How did anyone come to believe that he could? Superman embodies not only superior physical perfection but the appellation 'super' applies to his morality as well. Just as he is empowered beyond ordinary human physical frailty he likewise possesses emotional stability, uses rational thought and reaches moral conclusions at each and every step, effortlessly. With great power there is great responsibility. His rei...

Southern Europe Permanently Crippled, The Only Tool Left is Hyper Inflation Any perusal around the world these days features Southern Europe crippled, preparing for the inevitable Greek Govt Bond default. It features a crippled US housing market, a mockery of statistical accounting in the US Gross Domestic Product, the plight of the COMEX with established veterans clearing out desks (not trading), the extreme physical demand reported by the London Trader, and the indictment of the SLV iTrust Silver Fund tool used by the cartel. The survey does not look favorable toward stability. The banking, economic, and political leaders have not pursued reform and remedy in any remote sense. Their only tool left is hyper inflation. The central banks of the Western nations have coordinated Global Quantitative Easing, as the USFed concealed its own QE3. Operation Twist was an enormous ruse, to cover the grand disposal sale (dump) by USGovt creditors and maintain a semblance of stability in the USTrea...

Gingrich undoubtedly knows what the people want to hear And has no problem saying it, even when he knows it will not be delivered on. For politicians such as Gingrich and Bailhache power is the end, rather than the means to the end. With the third result in, and the first result clarified... IOWA - Santorum NEW HAMPSHIRE - Romney SOUTH CAROLINA - Gingrich The news that Ron Paul came fourth has been heralded as a sign that it is time for him to leave, of course Gingrich came fifth in both Iowa and New Hampshire and remained in the race. Like Santorum in Iowa, Gingrich has thrown most of his resources in securing a win in South Carolina and heads onto Florida where Romney has been spending heavily for the past few months. The Florida result which was bought up earlier than normal and has resulted in Florida losing half its delegates to the Republican Convention was supposed to secure outright victory for Romney early on the back of three other wins in the first three States. Florida is a...

After my last post there were a few comments which I felt merited a whole posting in response Well Antje, the problem is that the basis of English Common Law is substantially different to the Civil Law which exists in Europe. I have addressed this issue before here  but basically In Common Law (which applies to England and Wales and many former British Colonies including the US) there are only two laws: 1) Do what you say you are going to do and 2) And it harm none do as you will. Everything else is just an interpretation of those laws which has been passed down for thousands of years and seriously codified for more than the last thousand. The Common Law is built on the wisdom of generations, statutes are the passing whimsy of egotistical meddlers seeking to garner votes at future elections. So for example assault, which is a cause of action or something which may give rise to a proceeding in a Court, under common law encompasses everything from merely placing someone in fear...

The elections for the Republican Party nominee has changed greatly over the past couple of days in the run up to the South Carolina Primary. Two further candidates have now pulled out - Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Huntsman threw his weight behind Romney and Perry backed Gingrich. Two debates have been held, the best of the first of these is in the following video In the second, with just four participants Congressman Paul was again largely ignored by the debate moderator - a repeat of his experience in the previous Fox News GOP debate in Myrtle Beach. The problem facing Ron Paul is that the mainstream media (MSM) cares more about providing opportunities for inter-candidate mud-slinging than in providing an atmosphere conducive to a substantive exchange of ideas. Paul has consistently come out ahead in forums that have favored intellectual debate on real issues, such as in his excellent debate performances in Iowa and New Hampshire. In the closing minu...

FULL NEW HAMPSHIRE POLLING RESULTS Quotes from the coverage... Mitt Romney looks set to win as long as candidates refuse to drop out of the race "New Hampshire leaves us with Mitt Romney moving toward the Republican presidential nomination, and Ron Paul building a real movement for his ideas within the GOP. What the rest of the candidates are doing at this point is impossible to tell." "In the meantime, Ron Paul deserves praise for a strong second place finish in New Hampshire. Paul, of course, won't win the nomination – but he will collect delegates along the way. Paul may not win the election, but his real goal is to win the argument. In that regard, Paul likely has won a convention speech for himself – and may help influence the Republican plank – and the direction of the party." "After New Hampshire primary win, all is not rosy for Mitt Romney, Republicans Don't Love Him, Tea Parties Can't Stand Him, Low Income Men Can't Relate to Him" ...

Like it hasn't already been going on for seven long months the first actual vote in what will be an eighteen month process to decide who will be the most powerful person in the world (only questionably these days of course) has begun in earnest. Well Iowa (and no I checked unfortunately there is no town called Earnest in Iowa). And so it was on the 3rd January that Iowans stopped picking corn and picked there preferred candidate to contest the presidency for the Republican Party (or Grand Ole Party, GOP). The 76 year old Dr Ron Paul is a hit with the under 35's... In other words the ones who will have to pay for today's excesses of their parents Mitt Romney, the anointed candidate, hit first with 25% of the vote. Rick Santorum surged to second with a further 25% of the vote and Ron Paul finished third with 21.5% of the vote, leaving the rest of the field to split the rest between them. John Huntsman finished seventh but remains in the race until the New Hampshire primary at...

Dr. Ron Paul faces the first test in the Iowa Caucus 3rd January 2012 I was reviewing the  history of opinion polls in Iowa  and well it seems that the Gingrich candle burned brightly but has now burned out, the last of a successive number of waves pushing one candidate to the forefront only to fall away under closer scrutiny, the sort of scrutiny that is noticeably absent from Jersey politics. Scrutiny which means that what you say is closely examined and you are questioned on the meat of what you are saying to see if a) you actually know what you are talking about and b) you really mean what you say. Instead, in Jersey, we have a kind of mutual agreement - you tell us what we want to hear and we won't hold you to it. But one man is trying to change that, and has been for the past thirty years or so. This is his third run at president. The last shot is in the barrel in the form of Rick Santorum but if the polls hold true and if as everyone believes the polls have consist...

Money in the bank is money loaned to the bank Gold on paper is gold loaned to the holder When buying gold make sure you take physical delivery Divergence between paper gold and physical gold price is happening, the process begun. Actual physical shortages have kept the price up. Various tactics have kept the paper price down. The fraud cases and lawsuits make for unfavourable publicity for the COMEX. Trust has vanished along with private accounts. The economic deterioration and asset market down-draft have led to margin calls, loan payment obligations, fading investor confidence, negative sentiment, and a desire to avoid loss. Hence the huge liquidity concerns, selling of good assets that command a strong price, and central bank encouragement of gold sales even with lease. These forces conspire to push down the gold futures price from the discovery process, called the paper gold price. The paper Gold market is very different in its internal dynamics from the physical. On the o...