700-HP Ferrari 599 GTO

MARANELLO, Italy — Ferrari has confirmed that it will be releasing the 599 GTO. It is essentially a road variant of the built-for-the-track Ferrari 599 XX, and this is the first time the Prancing Horse automaker has used the GTO nameplate since the 288 GTO, built from 1984-'86.
Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa confirmed this news with Evo Magazine. Felisa also stated that the automaker has changed the classification of the 599 GTB Fiorano from "GT" to its "Sports Car" designation, allowing for the development of this extreme GTO version.
The vehicle's 6.0-liter V12 will develop an estimated 700 horsepower thanks to an increased rev limit of 9,000 rpm — 88 hp over the standard 599. It is also set to have quicker gearchanges than the standard 599 GTB Fiorano at just 60 milliseconds (down from 100 milliseconds), a 0.5-second-faster 0-60-mph time of just 3.2 seconds and, finally, a remarkable Enzo-battling 217 mph top speed.
Evo says the U.K. will get 50 of the supercars after it makes an official debut at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in March. Pricing should start around the equivalent of $460,000, with deliveries expected to begin as soon as this May.
Inside Line says: Ferrari may just have created its most exciting road-going vehicle ever with the expected performance of the 599 GTO. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent

THE BRAIN DEAD VP OF THE UNITED STATES

Biden: How wonderful to have a job where I don’t do anything!

posted at 8:48 am on February 26, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
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God love ya, Joe Biden.  You make it so easy to lampoon you — and by extension the man who chose you — that pundits really should demand a Biden Appreciation Day.  Yesterday, C-SPAN microphones picked up the Vice President off camera outside the health-care summit explaining the virtues of Vicing (via Jammie Wearing Fool):
Just moments before the afternoon session got underway, C-SPAN’s cameras picked up audio of Biden chatting casually with participants.
“It’s easy being vice president — you don’t have to do anything.”
Whomever Biden was chatting with said, “It’s like being the grandpa and not the parent.”
“Yeah, that’s it!” replied Biden.
Biden’s spokesperson later insisted to Politico that the Veep was “obviously joking,” and talked about Biden’s speeches and travels, as well as his report to Barack Obama on the first year’s successes with Porkulus. That last task would have easily fit into the President’s coffee break, and traveling and speaking don’t mean a whole lot in terms of actually governing.
The one destination mentioned, Iraq, is more a reminder of why we should be thrilled that Biden doesn’t actually do anything. If Biden had been in charge in 2006, he would have pressed to partition Iraq into three autonomous enclaves, a solution that the Iraqis refused to even consider. We’re all better off with Biden as Grampa rather than Dad.

CHARLIE RANGAL THE RESIDENT CROOK OF THE DEMS

Unhappy anniversary, Charlie Rangel

By Michelle Malkin  •  September 15, 2009 09:12 AM

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the New York Times’ call for dirty Democrat Rep. Charlie Rangel to resign amid mounting ethics and tax evasion scandals.

U.S. Representatives John Carter (R-TX) and Steve King (R-IA) marked the anniversary on the House floor — and contrasted the Democrats’ furor over GOP Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst with their continued silence over Rangel’s corruptocracy.

Rangel, true to form, persists in whining about victimhood — and complaining about the “smear campaign” of the New York Post. “Fairness” means that everyone else should shut up and leave it to the House Ethics Committee foxes guarding the henhouse to investigate his finances:

Liberal WaPo columnist diagnoses Rangel with “Congressional Sclerosis.”

***

Favorite flashback: Tax cheat Rangel caught on tape: “Why don’t you mind your goddamned business?”

Posted in: Corruption, Race Hustlers

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US dollar watch out-----------------------

Chaotic Greek Economy Spells Trouble for Euro zone

European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet described talk of Greece and other weak states being expelled from the euro zone as ''absurd hypotheses.''

 Greece's debt and deficit crisis is placing increasing pressure on the stability of the euro, the common currency of the 16-nation euro zone bloc.

A meeting of governors of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt on January 14 addressed the problem posed by Greece's runaway budget deficit in what the media are calling the worst crisis since the euro was introduced in 1999.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet described talk of Greece and other weak states being expelled from the euro zone because of fiscal problems as "absurd hypotheses."

But he added that "there is a lot of hard work to do. And you can see to what extent the governing council has been figuring out the necessity to have appropriate measures and appropriate implementation of the measures as regards fiscal policy.

"This is absolutely key. This is key for all countries and we have a message for all members of the euro area. It is also very important for some of them which have a special difficulty. It is for their own prosperity, for their own recovery that they have to redress the situation in taking appropriate, bold and courageous measures."

Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Center for European Reform in London, says that the case in particular of Greece poses a significant challenge to the euro zone.

"On the one hand, they can't let Greece get away with pursuing unsustainable policies; on the other hand, at the same time they can't be too tough with the Greek government, because there is only so much the Greek government can do, there is already risk of social instability in Greece," Tilford says.

Greece In Trouble

There have been fears that the other euro zone members will have to come to the rescue of Greece, which has admitted it has a government debt of a massive 12.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) -- some three times higher than was originally estimated by the previous government in official statistics early in 2009.

Aware of the national embarrassment his country is suffering, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday announced a new economic plan to bring the ballooning deficit within the 3 percent of GDP required of eurozone members, by 2012.

Papandreou has said he will not seek a bailout from other European Union states, nor will he seek financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Both options would entail loss of face as they would be an admission that Athens could not handle its current problems without outside help.

In fact, there is an IMF team presently visiting Athens, but Greek officials say they are only there to offer advice, not to prepare a rescue package.

But economists say sticking to Papandreou's plan will require severe austerity in public spending, and they question whether this can be done in Greece -- one of the European Union's poorest members -- without provoking public unrest. It also appears to conflict with socialist Papandreou's pledge to return the country to health without penalizing the poor.

Analyst Tilford sees no "chance at all of Greece being able to reduce its deficit as quickly as they are suggesting; with growth prospects so poor, with demand for their exports set to be so weak," which he attributes to Greece becoming uncompetitive within the euro zone, as well as the strength of the euro itself.

He says this means that "their exports both inside and outside the euro zone will be weak --- private consumption is going to be weak, if you then add big cuts in government spending, big cuts in real wages to reduce costs relative to other euro zone members, I think there is a real risk of a slump."

Threat To Euro Solidarity?

All this disorganization has the potential to undermine the credibility of the euro, which has been remarkably steady during the last two years of international financial turmoil.

The Frankfurt meeting of ECB governors decided to leave unchanged the basic interest rate at the historic low of 1 percent. This is very much a compromise that illustrates the differing pressures that could theoretically grow so strong as to rupture the euro pact between participating countries.

The low interest rate is needed by Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal to stimulate growth in their near-paralyzed economies. But it could fuel inflationary tendencies in the stronger euro zone states, such as Germany and France, which have emerged from recession and are growing again.

The ECB governors obviously judged the inflationary tendencies to be still quite small in the recovering economies. But should strong growth return, the mismatch of the super-low interest rate to those conditions will become obvious and dangerous.

When originally conceived, the euro was meant to join together economies that were relatively at the same level of development. This would make possible a "one size fits all" interest-rate policy. But subsequent reality has shown this to be overly optimistic.

One option would be for the euro zone to simply jettison those members that cannot live up to the conditions imposed by the ECB. But Trichet ruled that out categorically.

And responding to hints that Athens should withdraw from the euro zone, Papandreou has firmly rejected that possibility. No mechanism exists for countries to resign from the zone, and politically it would be a very difficult decision for the European Union to take.

FLAT TAX vs FAIR TAX

Flat Tax Versus FairTax

Two Tax Reform Ideas That Can Help the United States Economy

With TEA parties growing across the nation, it is likely that the income tax system may be completely reformed with the coming generation of voters.

The Flat Tax and FairTax are thought of by many civic-minded people. The Flat Tax will tax all income above $25,000 for singles and $30,000 for families of four or more at a rate of 15%. This rate would also apply to corporations.
The FairTax has a flat rate as well, but it does not apply to income. The FairTax proposes to levy a 23% inclusive tax on all goods and services, meaning that a cart of groceries today costing $77 before tax will cost $100 with the FairTax. Corporations would pay the same taxes as everyone else, just as the rich would.
With both of these tax plans appearing to have so many similarities, it is important to note some differences.

The Flat Tax Taxes Income While the FairTax Taxes Consumption

To clarify the biggest difference between these two plans, it is important to understand why it matters where taxes are levied.
When the government withholds taxes from one's income, the person who earned it does not always receive the correct amount. Typically, they have more money withheld, resulting in a tax return. This means that the government receives the funds, spends them, and pays back anything they should not have had minus any interest. This is similar to a Ponzi Scheme, except Ponzi Schemes promise large gains and involvement is voluntary.
When income is not taxed, the person who worked for the money retains all of it initially. Since taxes are necessary for schools, roads, police and firemen, they need to be collected somewhere.
If taxes are levied during the buying of retail goods and services, and there is no income tax, the sales tax would have to be higher, but the idea is that higher rate would be paid for by people with more money, allowing them to decide when and where they pay taxes, and how much to the extent beyond their necessary living.

The FairTax Provides up to the Poverty Level While the Flat Tax Exempts Low Income Earners

To further assist taxpayers, the FairTax allows for a monthly consumption allowance, or "prebate," based on the size of a household. This allowance covers the tax obligation up to the poverty level, meaning that if a single person was to buy goods and services up to the poverty level, she would spend a maximum of $10,400 a year. Under the FairTax, she would need $199 a month to cover these taxes, and would receive it at the beginning of each month.
A married couple with two children would be expected to provide for their family at no less than $28,000, bringing their yearly tax assistance under the FairTax to $6,440, or $537 a month. A family of nine would receive $882 every month.
The Flat Tax also assists all tax payers. While taxing income at 15%, a single person will not be taxed on the first $25,000 of his income. Families of four or more will not be taxed on the first $30,000.
To clarify, these amounts are post-deduction. So, if a family of five has two parents earning $50,000 a year, they would have had $7,500 withheld from their paychecks over 12 months. When they file their very simple 10-line income tax form, it will look something like this:

1. Income- $50,000
2. Deduction- 3 children*
3. Deduction- $7,000 in mortgage interest
4. Deduction- $3,000 in medical and dental costs
5. Deduction- $5,000 in charitable giving
6. Taxable Income- $32,000
7. 15% of Taxable Income- $300
8. Taxes Withheld- $7,500
9. Money Owed to Government- $0
10. Money Government Owes Family- $7,200

*$1,000 was deducted per child as it is the current amount for 2010.

Both Plans Bring More to the Economy, but the FairTax has Higher Revenue Potential

With both of these plans, the economy is sure to rise due to the tax haven that the US will become to foreign and domestic businesses. The Flat Tax will collect 15% of corporate profits while the FairTax does not tax profit at all, only spending at 23% (the inclusive rate is used because income is currently taxed in this manner). The current system taxes profits, spending, property ownership, and payroll, among other things.
The US would attract businesses from Mexico and Canada whose current rates are 28% and 19.5% respectively.
While more workers are in the US, the tax base will increase under both plans. 15% of more income under the Flat Tax will be a larger stream of revenue for the government to operate with. However, the FairTax only taxes spending, meaning that anyone buying anything in the US will pay taxes to the US government. This will include the influx of people coming over to work from Mexico and Canada as well as those who claim no income, such as drug dealers and illegal immigrants.
This one point steers the favor into the corner of the FairTax. While the Flat Tax is very favorable compared to the current system, the FairTax has the potential to create more income for the nation while expanding its economy and offering a corporate tax rate that no other country can match.

Sources

Mitchell, Daniel J. "A Brief Guide to the Flat Tax". Heritage.org
Linder, J. Boortz, N. The FairTax Book. William Morrow.
Ellis, Frank. "2009, 2010 Child Tax Credit Information & Calculator". hubpages.com

Read more at Suite101: Flat Tax Versus FairTax: Two Tax Reform Ideas That Can Help the United States Economy http://americanaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/flat_tax_versus_fairtax#ixzz0gUMZYX6E

OBAMA's FAITH ADVISER- and ANTI-CHRIST

 

 

Obama Faith-Based Adviser: Pope Hurting People in Name of Jesus
Wednesday, February 03, 2010 EST

Harry Knox, who advises President Obama on the faith-based initiative, reaffirmed his assertion that the pope is hurting people in the name of Jesus.

 

BY SUMMER GAS PRICES WILL BE AROUND $.3.00 PER GALLON, WHERE IS THE OUTCRY??

Experts: Gas prices in Chicago to top $3

February 23, 2010

Gas prices are headed up to above $3 a gallon for regular, and experts say it isn't because of higher demand.

The average per-gallon price of unleaded regular gasoline in Chicago jumped 10 cents in the last week to $2.82, which is 84 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

Nationally, the price is $2.65 a gallon, up 3 cents a gallon from last week and 73 cents a gallon higher than a year ago.

Pump prices typically rise this time of year as refineries switch to a more expensive grade of gas. But prices are climbing even after millions of Americans got pink slips and kept their cars in the driveway.

What's pushing prices higher is the crude oil that's used to make motor fuel, said Fred Rozell of the Oil Price Information Service. Crude is an international commodity that has become ever more expensive as demand grows in China. As crude prices increase, so do gas gas prices.

Sun-Times staff and wires

HEALTH CARE STUPIDITY- AMERICA - READ ON

'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery

By Tara Brautigam (CP) – An unapologetic Danny Williams says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Williams said he went to Miami to have a "minimally invasive" surgery for an ailment first detected nearly a year ago, based on the advice of his doctors.
"This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.
"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."
The 60-year-old Williams said doctors detected a heart murmur last spring and told him that one of his heart valves wasn't closing properly, creating a leakage.
He said he was told at the time that the problem was "moderate" and that he should come back for a checkup in six months.
Eight months later, in December, his doctors told him the problem had become severe and urged him to get his valve repaired immediately or risk heart failure, he said.
His doctors in Canada presented him with two options - a full or partial sternotomy, both of which would've required breaking bones, he said.
He said he spoke with and provided his medical information to a leading cardiac surgeon in New Jersey who is also from Newfoundland and Labrador. He advised him to seek treatment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.
That's where he was treated by Dr. Joseph Lamelas, a cardiac surgeon who has performed more than 8,000 open-heart surgeries.
Williams said Lamelas made an incision under his arm that didn't require any bone breakage.
"I wanted to get in, get out fast, get back to work in a short period of time," the premier said.
Williams said he didn't announce his departure south of the border because he didn't want to create "a media gong show," but added that criticism would've followed him had he chose to have surgery in Canada.
"I would've been criticized if I had stayed in Canada and had been perceived as jumping a line or a wait list. ... I accept that. That's public life," he said.
"(But) this is not a unique phenomenon to me. This is something that happens with lots of families throughout this country, so I make no apologies for that."
Williams said his decision to go to the U.S. did not reflect any lack of faith in his own province's health care system.
"I have the utmost confidence in our own health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador, but we are just over half a million people," he said.
"We do whatever we can to provide the best possible health care that we can in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian health care system has a great reputation, but this is a very specialized piece of surgery that had to be done and I went to somebody who's doing this three or four times a day, five, six days a week."
He quipped that he had "a heart of a 40-year-old, so that gives me 20 years new life," and said he intends to run in the next provincial election in 2011.
"I'm probably going to be around for a long time, hopefully, if God willing," he said.
"God forbid for the Canadian public I won't be around longer than ever."
Williams also said he paid for the treatment, but added he would seek any refunds he would be eligible for in Canada.
"If I'm entitled to any reimbursement from any Canadian health care system or any provincial health care system, then obviously I will apply for that as anybody else would," he said.
"But I wrote out the cheque myself and paid for it myself and to this point, I haven't even looked into the possibility of any reimbursement. I don't know what I'm entitled to, if anything, and if it's nothing, then so be it."
He is expected back at work in early March.

BLOOM ENERGY'S BLOOM BOX WILL REPLACE GRIDS

Bloom Energy Unveils Its Ultra-Secretive Bloom Box Fuel Cell

BY Ariel SchwartzSun Feb 21, 2010

If you keep track of green technology companies, you may have heard rumblings about Bloom Energy, a secretive company that has raised nearly $400 million from investors like Kleiner Perkins for its supposedly game-changing fuel cell device. Now the eight year old company is finally emerging from the shadows with the Bloom Box, a $700,000 to $800,000 machine that 60 Minutes calls "a little power plant-in-a-box." So what exactly is the Bloom Box?

The box consists of a stack of ceramic disks coated with green and black "inks." The disks are separated by cheap metal alloy plates. Methane (or other hydrocarbons) and oxygen are fed in, the whole thing is heated up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and electricity comes out. Bloom estimates that a box filled with 64 ceramic disks can produce enough juice to power a Starbucks.

As of right now, Bloom isn't angling for the residential market--the box is far too expensive. But major companies like eBay, Google, Staples, and FedEx have already secretly started using the boxes. So far, the Bloom Box has been a success--eBay has already saved $100,000 in electricity costs since its 5 boxes were installed nine months ago. EBay even claims that the boxes generate more power than the 3,000 solar panels at its headquarters.

Of course, fuel cells aren't new. They have just been too expensive to be viable until now, and Bloom still has to prove that its box can produce energy at a cheaper rate than other power sources. The box also produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct--a potential downside depending on how much it generates.

Bloom Energy founder K.R. Sridhar estimates that a Bloom Box for the residential market could be out in 5 to 10 years for under $3,000. That's a big improvement from the $800,000 box of today, but only time will tell if Sridhar is being overly optimistic. And in the coming years, big name competitors will probably catch up to Bloom with cost-efficient boxes of their own. Will the Bloom Box and fuel cell devices like it eventually replace the power grid? Probably not, but they have the chance to one day at least partially free homeowners from the grid--along with solar panels, wind turbines, and other alternative energy sources.

Check out the 60 Minutes segment on the Bloom Box below for more info.

[60 Minutes]

9FF BUILDS WORLD'S FASTEST PORSCHE 911 WITH TR-1000

: 9ff Builds World's Fastest Porsche 911 With TR-1000

DORTMUND, Germany — a 9ff-tuned Porsche 911 Turbo hitting a top speed of 243.4 mph at the ATP automotive testing circuit in Papenburg, Germany, effectively making the vehicle the fastest road-going Porsche 911 on the planet.
Dubbed the TR-1000, the vehicle is equipped with Porsche's standard 3.6-liter flat-6, albeit with a bunch of upgrades that bring output all the way to 1,000 horsepower and 767 pound-feet of torque. Engine modifications include larger turbochargers, an improved intercooler, sport-profile camshafts, titanium connecting rods, a forged crankshaft, a sport air filter, a reconfigured ECU and a high-performance exhaust system. A high-end braking system and an adjustable sport suspension with aluminum dampers are also part of the tune.
The changes allow the Porsche to sprint to 60 mph in less than 3.2 seconds and, as the video shows, eventually top out at an amazing 243.4 mph. 9ff says that further improving the car's aerodynamics could result in an even higher top speed closer to 250 mph.
German tuning house 9ff obviously had to tweak the exterior as well to keep the vehicle glued to the pavement at high speeds, so it added a body kit, front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and a rear wing.
9ff reportedly completed the conversion for a Greek millionaire's girlfriend, and it cost just over $186,000

Toyota: Democrats 'not industry friendly'

Internal Toyota documents derided the Obama administration and Democratic Congress as “activist” and “not industry friendly," a revelation that comes days before the giant automaker's top executives testify on Capitol Hill amid a giant recall.
According to a presentation obtained under subpoena by the House Oversight and Government Relations committee, Toyota referred to the “changing political environment” as one of its main challenges and anticipated a "more challenging regulatory" environment under the Obama administration's purview.
This document, in addition to piles of other records, will be front and center this week as the Japanese automaker girds to face lawmakers hungry for answers about a recall that has the company teetering.
Upwards of 8 million cars have been recalled in the U.S. and worldwide, amid reports of Toyota's vehicles accelerating rapidly. The problems have turned political, as the company has shuttered some American factories, potentially resulting in layoffs.
The oversight committee, which is led by Democrat Edolphus Towns of New York and Republican Darrell Issa of California, will seek to discover if Toyota was forthright in disclosing problems with rapid acceleration – and if the government was responsible and quick in investigating such complaints.
Toyota has launched an image rehabilitation campaign on Capitol Hill, and its top lobbyist has sent e-mails to congressional aides in an attempt to shape its image amid this crisis.
Committee aides say the presentation, which was obtained by POLITICO, gives the clearest view into the minds of Toyota executives.
Aides believe the presentation was an explanatory slideshow prepared to explain the inner-workings of Toyota’s Washington lobbying operations. It includes a responsibility flow chart, in addition to resources the office calls upon, including The Brookings Institution and the Chamber of Commerce.
The slideshow is titled “Toyota Washington, DC” and the cover sheet is labeled “Yoshi Inaba” – the president of Toyota North America, who is slated to testify.
It is a peek into how Toyota executives view the American political environment.
The “Activist Administration & Congress – increasing laws & regulations” is listed as one of “Toyota Challenges,” as is “Massive government support for Detroit automakers.”
The July 2009 presentation also says the Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration “under Obama administration” is “not industry friendly,” and anticipates a “more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment.”
It says the NHTSA “new team has less understanding of engineering issues and are primarily focused on legal issues.”
“While the administration may have changed, the bureaucracy itself has not and we must ensure that government regulators give every possible consumer concern its due diligence,” said Republican Oversight spokesman Kurt Bardella.

Politico

SANITY COMES TO TOWN, GREAT JOB GOVERNOR

McDonnell Proposes Va. Budget Cuts

Virginia Governor cutting schools, work force

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia's new governor is proposing $730 million in cuts from public schools to shore up the state's $2 billion budget deficit. That proposal has parents and teachers worried.

Teachers fear thousands in their ranks across the state could lose their jobs.

Parents fear that could lead to much larger class sizes. They also believe students would lose programs and services.

State Lawmakers will have to make the hard choices over the next few weeks. Teacher organizations are asking parents to mail, email and phone their elected representatives and ask them to spare education.
 

MARGARAT THATCHER QUOTES

I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.

 
I don't mind how much my Ministers talk, so long as they do what I say.

I just owe almost everything to my father and it's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election.

I like Mr Gorbachev, we can do business together.

 
I love argument, I love debate. I don't expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that's not their job.

I owe nothing to Women's Lib.
I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air.

I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.

I'm extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end.

I've got a woman's ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.

 
If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim.

If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.

 
If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you.

 
If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.

 
If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.

 
If you want to cut your own throat, don't come to me for a bandage.

 
It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake.
It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.

It pays to know the enemy - not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.
It's a funny old world.

It's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election.

No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.

No woman in my time will be prime minister or chancellor or foreign secretary - not the top jobs. Anyway, I wouldn't want to be prime minister; you have to give yourself 100 percent.

Nothing is more obstinate than a fashionable consensus.

Of course it's the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story.

One of the things being in politics has taught me is that men are not a reasoned or reasonable sex.

Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted.

Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth.

People think that at the top there isn't much room. They tend to think of it as an Everest. My message is that there is tons of room at the top.

Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan.

Platitudes? Yes, there are platitudes. Platitudes are there because they are true.

Power is like being a lady... if you have to tell people you are, you aren't.

Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.

The battle for women's rights has been largely won.

There are still people in my party who believe in consensus politics. I regard them as Quislings, as traitors... I mean it.

There can be no liberty unless there is economic liberty.

There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families.
This lady is not for turning.

To cure the British disease with socialism was like trying to cure leukemia with leeches.

To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.

To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.
We were told our campaign wasn't sufficiently slick. We regard that as a compliment.

What Britain needs is an iron lady.

What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose.

You and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure.
You don't tell deliberate lies, but sometimes you have to be evasive.
You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

COLLAPSE OF THE EURO IS INEVITABLE

The European single currency is facing an 'inevitable break-up' a leading French bank claimed yesterday.
Strategists at Paris-based Société Générale said that any bailout of the stricken Greek economy would only provide 'sticking plasters' to cover the deep- seated flaws in the eurozone bloc.

The stark warning came as the euro slipped further on the currency markets and dire growth figures raised the prospect of a 'double-dip' recession in the embattled zone.

The bailout of Greece will only act as a 'sticking plaster' for the Euro crisis, the bank warned yesterday

Claims that the euro could be headed for total collapse are particularly striking when they come from one of the oldest and largest banks in France - a core founder-member.

In a note to investors, SocGen strategist Albert Edwards said: 'My own view is that there is little "help" that can be offered by the other eurozone nations other than temporary, confidence-giving "sticking plasters" before the ultimate denouement: the break-up of the eurozone.'

'The euro's a success': Peter Mandelson at Downing Street on Thursday

He added: 'Any "help" given to Greece merely delays the inevitable break-up of the eurozone.'
The alarming claim came a day after European Union leaders promised 'determined and co-ordinated' action to shore up Greece's tattered public finances, but disappointed traders by failing to provide specifics.
Further details are expected early next week, but markets were in high anxiety yesterday amid fears political divisions among rich eurozone members could derail any rescue.
The euro slid almost 1 per cent to $1.357 yesterday, meaning it has lost 10 per cent of its value since November. The pound rose to 1.14 euros.
Earlier this week Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's claimed that the single currency had been a 'remarkable success' and that it remained in Britain's interests to join.
David Cameron ridiculed that claim yesterday.
He told the Tories' Scottish conference: 'Are this Government the only people in the country who still think that would be a good idea? Our deficit and debt are bad enough without the straightjacket of the euro.
'If I am elected for as long as I am prime minister the United Kingdom will never join the euro.'
The French bank's warning was echoed by Mats Persson, Director of the Open Europe think-tank, which campaigns for reforms in Brussels.
He said: 'The eurozone is facing a fully-fledged crisis. The Greece episode has made it painfully clear how flawed the euro project was from the very beginning.
'Even if Greece receives a one-off bailout it would not solve the real problem, which is the huge differences in competitiveness between the eurozone's richest and poorest members.

Tory leader David Cameron said if he is elected, the UK will not adopt the euro

'If these differences are to be evened out, the EU would need a single budget and common taxes so it can redistribute resources.
'One thing is clear, Britain made the right choice in staying out.'

Mr Edwards argued that Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain are too economically weak to withstand the rigours of eurozone membership.
Countries that are highly uncompetitive are normally able to slash interest rates and devalue their currencies to prop up their economies.
But this is not possible within the euro, given its one-size-fits-all economic governance.
The implication is that weak, peripheral eurozone members will have to suffer years of painful deflation and tumbling living standards, as well as draconian budget cuts, in order to adjust.
Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, a long-standing sceptic on the euro, yesterday said the single currency 'isn't working' because member governments have no incentive to keep their public debts under control.
'There's too much incentive for countries to run up big deficits as there's no feedback until a crisis,' he said.

Germany drags EU back towards recession

 

Axel Weber, President of Germany's Bundesbank, warned the German economy will contract this year

The eurozone faces the danger of a 'doubledip' recession after Germany's economy retreated into stagnation.
Figures published yesterday revealed that the countries who have joined the euro collectively grew a mere 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year - equal to Britain's own faltering performance. 
Germany was the biggest drag, recording zero growth in the final three months of 2009 after emerging from recession earlier in the year.
Axel Weber, President of Germany's Bundesbank, warned this week there is a chance his nation's economy will contract in the first quarter of 2010, in part because of the severe winter, in a major blow to recovery hopes.
The figures from the European Commission are a blow to Britain's embattled manufacturers, which count the eurozone as their biggest export market.
France provided a bright spot in the report, expanding by 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter-But Italy, Spain and Greece all registered contractions in their gross domestic product.
Economist Martin van Vliet of ING Bank said: 'The paltry pace of fourth quarter growth makes crystal clear that the eurozone economy cannot yet stand on its own feet.
'The disappointing eurozone growth data are a sobering reminder that recovery from financial crisis led recessions tends to be slow and protracted, and might not prove very supportive in calming markets' fears about the region.'


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