More propaganda spending

And yet the targets are still all wrong. It is very strange, and I will never to cease to wonder how and why they do it, but the EU is utterly incapabable of producing effective information. They spend millions of pounds a year, invest in technology new and old. Employ brilliant people, and still they produce turkey's. Indeed production lines of turkeys, so much so I am surprised that the Commission Comunication department hasn't been freed during an overnight raid by the ALF.

Here is the latest one. Hidden in plain sight in the latest propaganda review,

"Citizenship Report 2010

Doesn't it make your skin crawl when the word citizen's is used like that, they are trying to include me into their project without asking my permission. A littlel ike Blair and his "People's Princess" line about Diana. Not mine she wasn't, and in a similar way, this Europe that they talk about isn't for this particular citizen.

Anyhow the report is subtitled,

Dismantling the obstacles to EU citizens’ rights

In it are a range of guestures to defend rights so liberally granted to us by the benificent Union, rights such as a fair trial (which I understand I had beforet he ECHR became British law) but that is not what I want to focus on. In defending these rights the EU has hit upon a brilliant wheeze.

"further strengthen information on European affairs, characterised by independent, professional and high-quality reporting; in this context, the Commission will also explore options for a more sustainable financing of Euronews. The building up of a Brussels studio for Euronews will be encouraged."

For pities sake you idiots. Nobody who is not forced by dint of sitting in a airport lounge ever watches that channel. Please stop pouring our money down that stagant hole. It isn't working.

It is boring, disembodied and pointless. If you haven't worked that out then you obviously don't live on the same planet of any of those you claim to govern.

Look, no government, of any stripe should be buggering around with the media as you do. No governmental organisation should be hosting and paying for Film Prizes, or journalism prizes, or creating news agencies or TV stations. That is not your job. If you do your jobs properly, then the people will come to you, and the journalists will report your activities.

If you fail to do things that the people want they will ignore you, no matter how much of their money you spend. You do fail to do those things, which is why people want out.

This arguement that you proffer should appall any democrat,

"Independent media reporting about EU affairs is an important cornerstone of well-informed EU citizens and European public discourse," argues the Commission in the report.

"However, there is still a long way to go until there is a true European media landscape which stimulates informed debates about EU policies," adds the Commission.

Go on, try Euronews now. Even Channel 5 is better than Euronews.

(Other parts of the document hace some interesting interferences in Criminal Justice and electoral law, but that is for another post).