Permission to scan.

I know my way around the economy like I know the back of my - hey, what's that?

The Brown Gorgon is having some friends over to play. Apparently he thinks a faraway place called Yemen needs a visit from his gang because they've been sending Nigerian people who once visited Britain to blow up Americans.

You or I might think that if the bombers are in this country at any point, we should just arrest them, or ideally tell them to go and do all their bomby stuff elsewhere and not get us involved. Ah, but the Gorgon is so much more intelligent, you see, and he knows that all problems are solved by having his pals round for some cheese and wine and by speaking in stern and serious tones. Then sending the Army in to attack some people who have never threatened us. Although to make it fair, he doesn't give our Army any bullets. They have to shout 'Bang' at the enemy and hope to scare them into having heart attacks. It's not working too well so far.

Subrosa has spotted the obvious reason for this meeting, to get us in the right mindset for another pointless war against another country that hasn't attacked us and shows no inclination to do so. Witterings from Witney bemoans the pointless spending just to bring in company from overseas to keep the Gorgon from getting lonely. Nobody here will speak to him, you see.

Reading further, past the ludicrous statements of the Gorgon's, we find mention of full body scanners at airports. The ones that let the operators see you naked. These are apparently already to be installed in some European countries, including Holland. But not here, not yet.

Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, had claimed that the introduction of full body scanners is not possible without the permission of the European Union.
Four £10,000 scanners are thought to be in storage at Heathrow airport following a trial, but staff are banned from using them.

Not possible without the permission of the EU. The government of this country has to ask Brussels if they can install these security devices. Now, I don't want them, but the idea that a country's government requires the permission of another government in order to install a security device at that country's own airports just doesn't sit right with me. Particularly since Holland is going ahead with them and doesn't seem to be bothering with all this 'ask the master' stuff.

If permission from Brussels is required on matters of purely internal security, what else is permission required for? If the Gorgon tells the Americans he'll join them in a trip to Yemen to shoot some goatherds, will he find the EU saying 'Tut tut, Gorgon, you naughty boy. You don't have permission. Off to bed with no supper and stop playing with the naughty boys from across the planet.'? I hope so, on that subject.

There are other subjects though. Important ones. Look at Greece for example. Debt spiralling out of control and locked into the Euro so they can't fiddle around with interest rates and devaluation to get out of it. They are screwed and their only possible way out is to leave the EU, but they can't leave without permission. Neither can we. Fortunately we're not in the Euro yet but it's just a matter of time as long as we're members.

How far does this permission lark extend? Are we going to need EU permission to hold a general election? If the result is not what the EU want, are we going to have to hold it again? They have form in that respect. Suppose the UKIP and/or BNP get a fair number of seats - what will the EU reaction be?

Dai Cameroid is happy to take the Gorgon's seat in No. 10 after all the Nokia-shaped holes in the walls have been filled in, but really, what would be the point? If he's going to have to ask permission from Brussels before doing anything, then he really has no purpose at all and is just an expensive figurehead. The government has become nothing more than a costly version of a reality TV show where the contestants are fooled into thinking their opinions actually matter and they get to sit in a big room and shout at each other. The pay's good, but the show has no more relevance to real life than Eastenders and is even less entertaining to watch.

Of all the bizarre pronouncements in that article, Lord Adonis' admission that Brussels is now completely in control is perhaps the most scary. I don't want those body scanners, but this idea that our government has to ask someone else for permission to act is far worse than being seen naked.

The next election will be interesting indeed. If we have one.